The troubling case of champion Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari is triggering widespread outrage.
Afkari, 27, was handed a penalty of two death sentences — as well as 74 lashes with a whip — for his role in a peaceful protest against the Iran government's economic policies in 2018.
Afkari and his brothers, Vahid and Habib, were among hundreds of protesters who took to the streets in anti-government demonstrations in several cities in August, 2018. They were protesting the country's worsening economic situation and inflation.
According to a letter published by the Human Rights Activists News Agency, Afkari said he was tortured by authorities until he confessed to more than 20 crimes, including "insulting the supreme leader, attending illegal gatherings, assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against national security".
His head was covered with a plastic bag and alcohol was poured into his nostrils as part of the torture, he said.
