Sport has taught us courage and the defense of freedom and human dignity
Twenty-four International Athletes Champions from various disciplines have issued a statement in condemnation of the inhumane wave of executions in Iran, and in support of the June 20 demonstration in Paris, where Iranians converge from around the world to protest the wave executions and support a democratic republic in Iran.
Among the signatories to the statement are 9 women athletes from a variety of sporting disciplines, including:
- Martina Navratilova (Czech Republic/United States) – Former world No. 1 women’s tennis player.
- Sharron Davies MBE (United Kingdom) – Swimmer, Olympic Medalist.
- Solmaz Abouali (United States) – 16-time U.S. champion and three-time world champion in traditional karate.
- Tracy Edwards MBE (United Kingdom) – 1990 Yachtsman of the Year; Skipper of the First All-Female Crew in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.
- Inga Thompson (United States) – Cyclist; Olympian; 10-time U.S. National Champion; three-time World Medalist.
- Carilyn Johnson (United States) – Ultramarathon runner and member of the U.S. national team; winner of two team gold medals and one team silver medal at the IAU 24-Hour World Championships.
- Monica Aksamit (United States) – Sabre fencer, Olympic bronze medalist, Pan American Games Gold Medalist.
- Golpar Parvardeh (Sweden) – Gymnast and silver medalist at the European Championships in TeamGym.
- Elham Asem (Norway) – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) Fighter and Referee; BJJ World Amateur Champion; Gold Medalist at the AJP Lisbon and Milan International Championships.
Other international athletes who signed the statement include:
- Craig Foster (Australia) – Former captain of the Australian national football team.
- Alberto Frati (Italy) – Boxer; Former UBO International Super Featherweight Champion.
- Nikolai Terteryan (Denmark) – Boxer; European Games Gold Medalist.
- Moslem Eskandar Filabi (Iran) – Olympian and Asian Games gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling.
- Bahram Mavaddat (Iran) – Former goalkeeper of the Iranian national football team.
- Mohammad Ghorbani (Iran) – Olympian and gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at the World Championships and Asian Games.
- Manouchehr Arastoopour (Iran) – Gold medalist at the World Masters Rowing Championships.
- Ali Ziaei (Canada) – Former national Sanshou champion and member of Canada’s national Wushu team.
- Chris Cook (United Kingdom) – Swimmer, Olympian, and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist.
- Vladyslav Heraskevych (Ukraine) – Olympian and skeleton athlete.
- Shea McAleese (New Zealand) – Olympian; Former Member of the New Zealand National Hockey Team; Commonwealth Games Bronze Medalist .
- Asghar Adibi (Iran) – Former member of the Iranian national football team.
- Eli Bremer (United States) — Olympian, Modern Pentathlon (United States)
- Amin Karimi (Germany) — Kickboxer; 16 B-Class Fights, 14 Wins
- James Field (United States) — Former Captain of the U.S. International Karate Team; Two-time National Grand Champion; Two-time Pan American Champion
In their statement, the athletes emphasized that “sport has taught us courage and the defense of freedom and human dignity.” They added, “This compels us to stand up for the rights of the Iranian people, especially those sports champions who have raised their voices for freedom.”
The statement reads, in part:
“Since mid-March, Iran has witnessed a horrific spree of executions of political dissidents, marking one of the most severe crackdowns in the past three decades. Dozens of people have been executed following unfair trials and coerced confessions.
“The theocratic regime, fearing another uprising, has exploited the cover of war to suppress growing dissent. Several victims of these executions were protesters arrested during the January 2026 uprising. Among them were Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old national wrestling champion, and Sasan Azadvar Joonaghan, a 21-year-old karate champion,” the letter states.
“Tragically, Iran has a grim history of executing athletes for their beliefs, including Habib Khabiri, the captain of Iran’s national football team, who was executed for his affiliation with the PMOI, and Forouzan Abdi, captain of Iran’s national women’s volleyball team, who was executed alongside 30,000 political prisoners during the 1988 massacre.
“In 2020, Iranian wrestling champion Navid Afkari was executed after participating in peaceful protests in 2018.”
“We call on the United Nations, international sports federations, and governments to act immediately to save the lives of Iranian dissidents, including athletes.”
Addressing the international community, they declared:
“The world must not stand by while Iran silences its champions. We stand with the victims. We stand for justice.”
The international athletes concluded their statement by drawing attention to the large-scale gathering of Iranians in Paris on June 20, organized in protest against the wave of executions, including the execution of athletes, and in support of a democratic republic in Iran.
