Soccer players union "sickened" as Iran's Amir Nasr-Azadani faces possible death sentence over protests
CBSN
Paris — The world union of professional soccer players FIFPRO said it was "shocked and sickened" by the risk of Iranian player Amir Nasr-Azadani being sentenced to death in connection with protests which have shaken the country for three months. Nasr-Azadani was arrested in the city of Isfahan two days after allegedly taking part in an "armed riot" in which three security agents were killed on September 16, Isfahan's judiciary chief Abdullah Jafari said, quoted Sunday by Iran's ISNA news agency.
Jafari said the 26-year-old had been accused of "rebellion, membership in illegal gangs, collusion to undermine security and therefore assisting in moharabeh" — or "emnity against God" — a capital crime in the Islamic republic.
"FIFPRO is shocked and sickened by reports that professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani faces execution in Iran after campaigning for women's rights and basic freedom in his country," the union wrote on its Twitter page late Monday.
