Eshragh Najafabadi | |
---|---|
Persian: اشراق نجفآبادی | |
Born | Eshragh Najafabadi May 23, 1992
Shiraz, Iran |
Nationality | Iranian |
Occupations | |
Known for | Iran's national Mountain Bike team |
Eshragh Najafabadi ( Persian: اشراق نجفآبادی; born May 23, 1992 in Shiraz) is an Iranian athlete and a former member of Iran's national Mountain Bike team. [1] He was arrested during the Mahsa Amini protests in Iran. [2] [3] He was accused of participation in the 2022 Shah Cheragh attack. [4] He was released after three months of detention. [5]
Since 2003, Najafabadi was involved within the Iranian professional cycling sphere. [6] [7] Between 2009 and 2012, he won the country's champion in the Danhil section of Iran's mountain biking competitions. [8]
He was arrested in Shiraz in late October 2022. [9] [10] His arrest was reported in the media after ten days, but no information about the reason for his arrest and his whereabouts were published for weeks. [11] [12] Najafabadi claimed he was repeatedly tortured and forced to confess. [13] [14]
On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 Tasnim News Agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps broadcast a video of Najafabadi and other detained athlete's forced confessions along claims that they were involved in an unsuccessful bombing plot in Shiraz. [15] [16] Their pictures were broadcast showing some blindfolded and some in handcuffs. [17] In these forced confessions, Najafabadi was introduced as the leader of the group. [18] Najafabadi claimed that they were forced to make false confessions under extreme mental and physical torture. [19] According to the note of Article 48 of the Criminal Procedure Code, none of them had the right to access a lawyer at the time of arrest. [20] [21]
On January 29, 2023, Seyyed Kazem Mousavi, the Chief Justice of Fars province, refuted allegations of bombing and declared that the indictment in this case was for assembly and collusion aimed at compromising national security. He also dismissed any accusations related to war and corruption of land. [22]
Najafabadi was released from prison on February 6, 2023 after three months. [32]