Navid Afkari Sangari, 27, has received two death sentences, six years and six months of prison, and 74 lashes for supposedly the murder of a security agent. His 35-year-old brother Vahid was sentenced to 54 years and six months of prison and 74 lashes, for complicity in murder while the third brother, 29-year-old Habib, was sentenced to 27 years and three months of prison, and 74 lashes.

Another protester who was charged in the case, 22-year-old Saied Dashtaki, was sentenced to more than 21 years in prison, and 74 lashes.

A source close to the brothers said Navid Afkari, a wrestling champion with no criminal record, and his two brothers took part in the 2018 protests. They were charged with playing active roles in the Kazerun and Shiraz protests in August 2018. They were also accused of killing a security agent for suppressing the protests.

A source said the court brought a long list of charges against them, but most had weak foundations. Navid and Vahid Afkari were brutally tortured by the notorious Shiraz Intelligence Police to make forced confessions. Eyewitness accounts of the torture and beatings have been included in their dossier but were ignored in court.  

The judge presiding over the case in the revolutionary court, who is also the head of Shiraz Judiciary, sentenced Navid and Vahid to “moharebeh” (waging war against God) in the final verdict even while they were sentenced to “corruption on earth” during the court proceedings. Their lawyers’ protest over the change in sentencing was also ignored.