Amir Reza Nasr Azadani (; born 7 February 1996) is an Iranian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who last played as a defender for

Persian Gulf Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Premier League (, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is a professional association football league in Iran and the highest level of the Iranian football league s ...

club

Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

. He was sentenced to 26 years in prison in Iran following the protests in the country about the death of

Mahsa Amini On 16 September 2022, 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini, died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances. The Guidance Patrol, the religious morality police of Iran's government, had a ...

while in the custody of Iran's morality police.

Imprisonment

Nasr Azadani was arrested in November 2022 during the

Mahsa Amini protests Civil unrest and protests against the Government of Iran, government of the Islamic Republic of Iran associated with the Death in custody, death in police custody of Death of Mahsa Amini#Victim, Mahsa Amini () began on 16 September 2022 and ca ...

, allegedly in connection with the deaths of a police officer and two

Basij The Basij (, lit. ''The Mobilization'') or Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin (, lit. ''Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed''), is a paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and one of its five ...

militia members. He was accused of ''

Moharebeh In Islamic law, ''Ḥirābah'' () is a legal category that comprises highway robbery (traditionally understood as aggravated robbery or grand larceny, unlike theft, which has a different punishment), rape, and terrorism. Ḥirābah means piracy or ...

'' ("Waging War Against God"), a crime punishable by death in Iran. The

Islamic Republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been used for a s ...

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. Following his arrest, according to

IranWire Maziar Bahari (; born May 25, 1967) is an Iranian-Canadian journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist. He was a reporter for ''Newsweek'' from 1998 to 2011. Bahari was incarcerated by the Iranian government from June 21, 2009 to October 17, ...

, 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.

VoA Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American international ...

-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". 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". 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 Change.org is a website which allows users to create and sign petitions in an attempt to advance various social causes by raising awareness and influencing decision-makers. The site is a US-based for-profit company and claims to have 551 million ...

, and it has over 2 million signatures. 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.

Club career

Nasr Azadani joined

Rah Ahan Rah Ahan Sports Club (, ''Bashgah-e Vârzeshi-ye Rahâhen''), commonly known as Rah Ahan Football Club, was an Iranian professional football club based in Tehran. They last played in the Azadegan League. Rah Ahan is one of the oldest Iranian foot ...

in 2015, after spending his youth career at

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club (, ''Bâšgâh-e Farhangi-Varzeši-ye Fulâd-e Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan, is an Iranian sports club based in Isfahan. It is best known for their football section that play in the P ...

. He played for the

with the Tractor team but has not played professionally since his last appearance in November 2017.

Career statistics

: ''Source'':

Honours

; Tractor *

Shohada Cup Shohada (, plural form of ''shahid'' 'martyr') may refer to: Places *Shohada, Fars, or Eshkaft, Iran *Shohada, Lorestan, or Gari Babakhan, Iran *Shohada, Yazd, Iran Other uses *Shohada Mosque, in Tabriz, Iran *Al Shohada Mosque (Sanaa), Yemen *Sh ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nasr Azadani, Amir Reza 1996 births Living people Iranian men's footballers Footballers from Isfahan Sepahan S.C. footballers Tractor S.C. players Persian Gulf Pro League players Men's association football midfielders Men's association football fullbacks Political prisoners in Iran 21st-century Iranian sportsmen