Fears grow for Iranian athletes on death row as mountaineer latest to be hanged

Two sportspeople have been executed in the past month and at least six more face the same fate, says activist group Fears are growing for more Iranian athletes facing execution after mountain climber Ali-Sina Mostafavi became the latest in a string to be killed by the regime. Mostafavi – who documented his ascents of some of the world’s highest peaks, including Mount Everest – was executed on 14 October having been arrested in April after the anti-government protests a few months earlier.

His death followed the killing of Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi, a taekwondo athlete, at the start of October, and the mixed martial arts fighter Gholamreza Khani Shakarab, who was hanged in May. Now Human Rights for Sport – a group of former Iranian athletes based in Oslo that has been documenting the growing number of cases – has warned that at least six more are facing execution