Women’s rights campaigner Masih Alinejad called on the international community during her address to the Oslo Freedom Forum, to ban the Islamic Republic from international sports events in response to the execution of Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari. Alinejad also called on Twitter and Facebook to suspend accounts of Islamic Republic leaders until the regime allowed access to social media services.

As in every year, various human rights activists from different corners of the world gathered for Oslo Freedom House’s annual conference this year in September to defend the cause of freedom of speech and human rights. Speaking at this highly prestigious event, Masih Alinejad brought forth the case of various voiceless Iranian protesters arrested during the #IranProtests. She talked about the case of Navid Afkari, a champion wrestler, who was arrested during 2017’s protests in Shiraz. After being exposed to egregious torture in prison, Navid was swiftly executed recently despite the international outcry that his execution has engendered.

Navid’s execution sent shockwaves across various segments of Iranian society. Iranians of various walks had coalesced around the goal of saving his life as the hashtag #NavidAfkari went viral. This hasty execution of this wrestler gave rise to calls to ban the Islamic Republic of Iran from worldwide sports championships. Masih Alinejad reiterated this call throughout her speech.

Along with Navid, there are countless prisoners who are in death row in Iran. Unfortunately, highlighted by Masih Alinejad, their cases receive scant attention in the international media, especially on social media. What is mind-boggling is that despite the fact that Facebook and Twitter remain forbidden in Iran, Iran’s rulers use such media to spread their own propaganda worldwide. Hence, it behooves on the administrators of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter not to become platform for these human rights violators. “History will judge you”, said Masih Alinejad in reference to social media platforms and she called on them not to allow their platform to become a media for spreading authoritarian governments’ propaganda.

Opened by Marianne Hagen, the State Secretary of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this year’s conference featured other human rights activists representing different causes worldwide, ranging from the cause of Uyghur Turks in China to pro-democracy activism in Sudan, Opposition to Putin’s rule in Russia, LGBTQ and environmental rights in Cuba along with the famous opposition leader of Belarus, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya