Iran executes 19-year-old champion wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, two others in horrific public hangings

Iran executed a 19-year-old champion wrestler in a public hanging Thursday along with two other people who were arrested during the brutal crackdown of anti-regime protesters in January.

19-year-old wrestler Saleh Mohammadi was executed by the Iranian regime.

Iranian anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 9, 2026. AP

Saleh Mohammadi, a rising star from Qom, was allegedly tortured to confess to the capital crime of waging war against God, with the teen executed without a fair trial, according to human rights groups.

“His execution was a blatant political murder, part of the Islamic Republic’s pattern of targeting athletes to crush dissent and terrorize society,” Nima Far, a human rights activist and Iranian combat athlete, told Fox News.