Iranian authorities publicly hanged 19-year-old national wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi along with Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi on Thursday in Qom.

Mohammadi, a rising star who won bronze with Iran's national team at the 2024 Saitiev Cup in Russia, faced charges of "waging war against God." Prosecutors accused him of killing police officer Mohammad Ghasemi Homapour and another officer during anti-regime protests in Qom's Nabutov Square in January. The men allegedly used knives, swords and Molotov cocktails.

Arrested on January 15, Mohammadi was sentenced to qisas, or retaliation in kind, by Qom's criminal court on February 3. He denied the charges in court, claiming his televised confession came under torture. Relatives said he had an alibi at his uncle's house during the incident, but witnesses were not called. Security footage did not clearly identify him, according to supporters.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Iran Human Rights, condemned the trials as unfair, citing forced confessions, lack of legal representation and excluded defense evidence. Iran Human Rights director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam called the executions extrajudicial killings aimed at terrorizing dissent.

The hangings mark the first executions tied to protests that erupted earlier this year against the Islamic Republic. Authorities claim the unrest, which they link to foreign influence from Israel and the United States, has led to over 30,000 civilian deaths and 53,000 arrests. The case echoes that of wrestler Navid Afkari, executed in 2019 under similar protest-related murder charges.

Olympic athletes voiced outrage. U.S. gold medalist wrestler Brandon Slay said the execution of a "teenage wrestler" by a "terror regime" broke his heart after visiting Iran for competitions. Swimmer Tyler Clary called it a "sham process." Bobsledder Kaillie Humphries deemed it "abhorrent," targeting an "iconic athlete." Former Iranian wrestler Sardar Pashaei, a world champion, said Mohammadi's only crime was protesting for freedom and urged global action to save others at risk.

The U.S. State Department had demanded Iran halt Mohammadi's execution, but Tehran proceeded. Activists like Nima Far labeled it "political murder" to crush dissent through athletes, calling for sports bans on Iran. Masih Alinejad urged athlete groups to support protesters for human dignity.

Rights monitors fear mass executions as the regime faces internal unrest and external pressures.