Iran’s regime executed on Thursday, by public hanging, the 19-year-old wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, who had been arrested during the January protests along with two other individuals.

Mohammadi—along with Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi—had been accused, according to Iranian media, of killing two police officers “with knives and swords” during the protests.

However, human rights organizations allege that Mohammadi, who was a rising talent in wrestling, was tortured in order to confess to the felony of “enmity against God.”

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

Amnesty International condemned the executions, arguing that the men were not provided with “adequate defense and were forced to make ‘confessions.’” According to the same statement, the three men were subjected to “fast-track proceedings that bore no resemblance to a meaningful trial.”

Far also noted that Thursday’s execution is a chilling repetition of the 2020 execution of champion wrestler Navid Afkari, who had been convicted of murdering an Iranian security guard during a 2018 protest.