This page keeps the memory of 99 athletes; footballers, wrestlers, bodybuilders, boxers and mountaineers about whose sport the sources have spoken in the description of their lives. The first date on this page is 6 Khordad 1394 and the last 22 Mehr 1405. 85 of them were killed in protests and 7 were executed. 2 lost their lives in custody and one was killed by government forces. For four other athletes the case is still open: the death sentence of one has been upheld, one has been sentenced to death and two face a charge that carries the death penalty.
Playing field and street
82 of these 99 names belong to the year 1404; 33 athletes were killed on 18 Dey 1404 and 23 athletes on 19 Dey 1404. The year 1401 has 7 names and the year 1405 5 names. Tehran with 17 names, Karaj with 11, and Mashhad and Isfahan with 6 names each have the largest share. The ages range from 15 to 50 years, and the median is 25 years. 13 people were under 18, and the sources have written of 6 people that they were women. For 93 people a description of life is available.
Champions
Masoud Zatparvar, 39 years old, according to the sources a two-time world champion in classic physique, was killed on 18 Dey 1404 in Rasht. His father, Dr Majid Zatparvar, a veteran of weightlifting and bodybuilding, died of a heart attack after his son's death. This sentence of Masoud's remains: “A voice that has been stifled for 40 years must be shouted out.” Arshia Barari, 25 years old, a national fitness champion and international Kyokushin champion, was killed on the same day in Zanjan by a military bullet to the kidney. Mojtaba Torshiz Hajikolaei, 47 years old, a former player of Nassaji and Tractor and father of two daughters, according to the source made his body a shield for his wife, Arezou Madani; he “gave his life so that his wife would stay alive.”
The younger ones
Ribin Moradi, 17 years old, a player in the Saipa youth team who was also active in swimming and wrestling, was targeted from behind and from close range on 18 Dey. Mohammadreza Karami, 16 years old, a boxer from Malekshahi, was wounded on 13 Dey 1404 and died after four days in hospital. Pouria Hamzehei, 20 years old, a bodybuilder and footballer in Isfahan who had worked several shifts to buy a car, had said to his mother before going out: “I am going to build a better future for myself and for Iran.” Zahra Azadpour, 27 years old, a player in the women's football team “Mehregan Pardis” and a mountaineer who had climbed Damavand, was killed on 19 Dey in Karaj.
Helping the wounded
Hamid Mahdavi, 38 years old, a firefighter and well-known athlete of Mashhad, a video of whom carrying a wounded person on his shoulders was widely shared, was hit in the throat by a bullet on the evening of 18 Dey while helping wounded protesters. Mohammad Radmannia, 29 years old, who took the wounded to his home to bandage them, was killed on 19 Dey in Nezamabad in Tehran when he had gone to help a wounded girl.
Those executed
Mansour Arvand, 39 years old, a well-known sports champion of Mahabad who since the year 1381 had run the “Javanmardan” bodybuilding club and took in young people free of charge to keep them away from addiction, was executed in secret on 6 Khordad 1394; the first name on this page. Saleh Mohammadi, 19 years old, a wrestler and holder of the bronze medal of the Saitiev international cup in the singlet of the national team, was executed on 28 Esfand 1404 in Qom together with two others. He had denied the charge of “intentional murder” and said the confessions had been obtained under pressure. These charges are the account of the authorities, not a verdict of guilt.
Sources and incompleteness
These 99 names are not all of the athletes who have lost their lives; the page contains only those whose sport the sources have mentioned. The main sources are iranhrs.org with 79 cases, Iran International with 69, HRANA / Human Rights Activists in Iran with 68, Iran International with 63, iranintl.com with 47, Persian Wikipedia with 36, independentpersian.com with 33, Independent Persian and www.iranintl.com with 28 each and Kayhan London with 23 cases. If you were a teammate, coach or pupil of one of these athletes, send us your memory or correction.