Shakira, Alejandro Sanz and many more demand justice for Amir Al Nasr, an Iranian soccer player sentenced to death: the other side of the World Cup

The singers are just two in a long list of familiar faces who took advantage of the euphoria and audience of the final of the Qatar World Cup to put on the table the ugliest and darkest football news in recent days: the death sentence of the Iranian Amir Nasr26 years old.

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The information was released last Tuesday, when relatives and friends of the young man publicly denounced that the government would hang Amir Nasr for having publicly defended the rights of women in his country, actively participating in the protests in recent days. They pleaded for the help and solidarity of the participants in the World Cup final, a gesture to stop barbarism. The petition went through social networks and many well-known characters (Shakira, Alejandro Sanz, Rafa Márquez, Godin, Isabel Rábago, Sara Sálamo…) have wanted to raise their voices to defend it.

That being said: a great missed opportunity for international soccer professionals to demand the release of Amir Nasr-Azadani, the Iranian player sentenced to death for protesting against the repression of women in his country.

— Ismael Serrano (@SerranoIsmael) December 19, 2022

A fat mobilization has not yet been organized, sanctions against Iran, a commercial blockade, the suspension of the Qatar World Cup due to the barbarity of the death sentence (the murder) of Amir Nasr-Azadani for defending the rights of Iranian women. Inaction makes us complicit pic.twitter.com/SNm20N5IXe

— Beatriz Rico (@bearicoactriz) December 18, 2022

It is outrageous that freedom of expression is punished not only for Amir Nasr-Azadani but for all the people who suffer for this issue https://t.co/1uHu3S8lpt

— Rafa Marquez (@RafaMarquezMX) December 18, 2022

It doesn’t fit my head that things like this happen in the world we live in! All my support to Amir Nasr-Azadani and his family. Hopefully this barbarity can be stopped. We must make visible this oppression suffered by thousands of people. pic.twitter.com/epRc6NyaR2

— Diego Godin (@diegogodin) December 15, 2022

Are we going to stay with our arms crossed and looking the other way? You can’t accept something like that, in no way. Everyone with Amir Nasr-Azadani and with all the people who go through and have gone through something like this. ENOUGH. STOP. https://t.co/Bhu91X7mpS

— Marc Bartra (@MarcBartra) December 15, 2022

This is unacceptable. All with Amir Nasr-Azadani https://t.co/YuIfPx3tim

— Radamel Falcao (@FALCAO) December 13, 2022

The fight for equality and human rights should be praised not punished, I stand in solidarity with Amir Nasr. https://t.co/QkqC9fgymX

The fight for equality and human rights must be recognized and not punished. I stand in solidarity with Amir Nasr.

— Shakira (@shakira) December 17, 2022

Amir Nasr-Azadani soccer player, sentenced to death for defending the rights of Iranian women.

The silence of politicians, soccer teams, soccer players, sports journalists is simply shameful. pic.twitter.com/vc4zb03sv1

— Isabel Rábago ???????? (@RABAGOISABEL) December 18, 2022

The @ONU_es will not stop the execution of Amir Nasr-Azadani?

Are the clubs not going to refuse to play the final of the @fifaworldcup_es if this madness is not stopped?

They are going to murder a 26-year-old boy for defending something as basic as that women should have human rights.

— Sara Salamo (@SaraSalamo) December 14, 2022

Amir nasr-azadani is sentenced to hang for defending human rights. Please, let’s be on the team of life, of justice. Let us all unite in a cry of hope in the face of the daily barbarism and the continuing exercise of Iran against freedoms.

– Alejandro Sanz (@AlejandroSanz) December 17, 2022

Today at the final of the World Cup, I only hope the players on the field and the whole world remembers that there’s a man and fellow footballer called Amir Nasr, on death row, only for speaking in favor of Women’s rights. pic.twitter.com/VdMicGVaml

— Shakira (@shakira) December 18, 2022

The case of Amir Nasr-Azadani

The wave of solidarity has managed to focus attention on the case and in the last hours the Persian service has wanted to clarify some points of the information to the BBC: “The judiciary denies that he has been sentenced to death. He is formally charged with serious criminal activity, including murder (meaning he faces the death penalty), but the trial itself has not yet taken place.”

Also, They clarify that he is not being tried for participating in the protests, but for being a member of an armed group that murdered three security agents (including Colonel Esmaeil Cheraghi) during a demonstration for women’s rights on November 16. The officials say that Amir has confessed to the crime and that they have CCTV recordings and other evidence against him and his co-defendants, nine people in all.

On the contrary, local sources affirm that Azadani did participate in the protests but not in the assassination of the army officer, since he was not in the area where the colonel died.