Saleh Mohammadi (11 March 2007 – 19 March 2026) was an Iranian wrestler and member of the country's national wrestling team.
Life and career
Mohammadi was born in Saveh, and grew up in Qom. He began training in freestyle wrestling, before transitioning to Greco-Roman. In September 2024, he represented Iran at the Saitiev Cup in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, where he won a bronze medal.
Arrest and execution
Mohammadi was arrested on 15 January 2026 on charges of killing a Special Units police officer in Qom on 8 January, during the 2025–2026 Iranian protests. He maintained he was at his uncle's house at the time of the murder, which was apparently corroborated by eyewitnesses and CCTV footage.
After a three-week trial, Mohammadi was sentenced to death by Criminal Court One in Qom for the murder on 4 March. On 19 March, he was publicly executed by hanging, eight days after his nineteenth birthday.
Reactions Amnesty International strongly condemned the death sentence and deemed the trial against Mohammadi to be “grossly unfair”, calling it a grave violation of the right to life and a use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression. Mohammadi's execution was condemned in a 19 March 2026 editorial published by The Wall Street Journals editorial board. U.S President Donald Trump condemned the sentence, stating that Mohammadi was killed for speaking up against the Islamic Republic.
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