Amir Reza Nasr Azadani (Persian: امیررضا نصرآزادانی; born 7 February 1996) is an Iranian footballer who last played as a defender for Persian Gulf Pro League club Tractor.[1][2] He was sentenced to 26 years in prison in Iran following the protests in the country about the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran's morality police.[3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Amir Reza Nasr Azadani | ||
| Date of birth | 7 February 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Isfahan, Iran | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2015 | Sepahan | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2016 | Rah Ahan | 3 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | Tractor | 14 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 December 2018 | |||
Imprisonment
editNasr Azadani was arrested in November 2022 during the Mahsa Amini protests, allegedly in connection with the deaths of a police officer and two Basij militia members. He was accused of Moharebeh ("Waging War Against God"), a crime punishable by death in Iran.[4][5] The Islamic Republic has executed two other Iranian men, Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard, both charged with the same crime for their participation in the Mahsa Amini protests on 8 and 12 December 2022, respectively.[6][7]
Following his arrest, according to IranWire, relatives reported being threatened: security forces allegedly said that if the family refused to keep Nasr Azadani's arrest quiet, then Nasr Azadani would be given the most severe sentence.[8] VoA-affiliated Polygraph.info expressed skepticism of the murder allegations against Nasr Azadani, given the Iranian state's alleged history of "sham trials", and given IranWire reports of alleged coercion. Iranian authorities stated the sentence was provisional "pending further investigation by a Revolutionary Court".[9]
Reacting to the news of the sentence on 12 December, FIFPRO, the world-wide union of footballers, said it was "shocked and sickened" and called for "immediate removal of his punishment".[10][11] Nasr Azadani has been charged with rioting against authorities but no sentence has been issued yet and it remains unclear when his trial is set to begin. A petition to stop the execution was raised on the protest site Change.org, and it has over 2 million signatures.[12]
On 9 January 2023, Nasr Azadani was sentenced to 26 years in prison, 16 for the crime of partaking in enmity against God, and 10 years for 2 other crimes committed during the protests.[13]
Club career
editNasr Azadani joined Rah Ahan in 2015, after spending his youth career at Sepahan.[2] He played for the Persian Gulf Pro League with the Tractor team but has not played professionally since his last appearance in November 2017.[4]
Career statistics
edit- Source:[14]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rah Ahan | 2015–16 | Persian Gulf Pro League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Tractor | 2016–17 | Persian Gulf Pro League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017–18 | Persian Gulf Pro League | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | |
| Career total | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | ||
Honours
edit- Tractor
References
edit- ^ "Amir Nasr Azadani". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- ^ a b "Amir Nasr Azadani". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- ^ "Iran footballer jailed for 26 years after 'execution' calls amid role in protests". msn.com. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
- ^ a b Lane, Barnaby (13 December 2022). "Iranian soccer player sentenced to death after protesting against the death of Mahsa Amini". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ "Amir Nasr-Azadani: Iran professional footballer dey face possible execution over women rights protests". BBC News Pidgin. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ "Mohsen Shekari: Iran carries out first execution over protests". BBC News. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "Iran execution: Man publicly hanged from crane amid protests". AP NEWS. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "Iran to execute top soccer player charged with killing security force members, rights group says". The Washington Times. 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
- ^ "Iran's Embassy in China Misrepresents Case Against Footballer". POLYGRAPH.info. 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
- ^ "Soccer union 'sickened' by reports Iranian player faces possible execution". CNN. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
- ^ "FIFPRO tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
- ^ Brinsford, James (20 December 2022). "Soccer player Amir Nasr-Azadani petition to stop execution nearly at goal". Newsweek. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ "Iran footballer jailed for 26 years after 'execution' calls amid role in protests". msn.com.
- ^ Amir Reza Nasr Azadani at Soccerway
External links
edit- Amir Nasr Azadani at Soccerway.com
- Amir Nasr Azadani at WorldFootball.net
- Amir Nasr Azadani at FBref.com
