PETITION: Ban Iran from the Olympics | American Jewish Committee

Iran’s execution of 27-year-old national wrestling champion Navid Afkari is a flagrant violation of the Olympic Charter, which specifically forbids retaliation against athletes for political reasons.
Afkari was arrested during Iran’s 2018 economic protests and charged with “insulting the supreme leader” and “waging war against God.” Iranian authorities tortured him into confessing to the murder of a security guard.
Iran’s record of abuse against its own athletes is abysmal. It has subjected athletes to persecution and draconian political and religious restrictions and has forced them to lose matches so as not to compete against Israelis. Multiple Iranian competitors—including Olympians—have fled the country.
Iran’s flagrant violations of the Olympic Charter are unacceptable. The regime must be held to account.
Join AJC in calling on the International Olympic Committee and its President, Thomas Bach, to ban Iran from participating in the 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympics.