CONCERNS have been raised about the safety and whereabouts of executed Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari’s cellmate, who testified in court about the torture meted out by security services prior to his death.

Participation Front politician Mehdi Mahmoudian warned on Saturday that Shahin Naseri had not been heard from by his family for more than a week since he was transferred from the Adel Abad prison in Shiraz.

It is feared that he may be being tortured in a bid to get him to retract his testimony.

“It’s been 10 days since his family has not been informed of his whereabouts. It would seem as though he was handed over to the institution that he testified against,” Mr Mahmoudian said.

Mr Afkari’s execution triggered angry protests, with anger directed at Iran’s clerical regime, which has escalated the pace of executions of people who took part in the anti-government protests that swept the country in 2018 and 2019.

Mr Naseri was present at the time the wrestling champion was beaten by Iranian security services at the Shiraz Police Criminal Investigation Department and gave an eyewitness account of what he saw. An audio recording of his testimony has been leaked into the public domain.

During one incident he claimed to have seen two men beating Mr Afkari so badly that he lost consciousness. As he begged to be taken to the infirmary for treatment for a hand injury, he was tortured again.

When he gave his testimony to the court, Mr Naseri said he was threatened by the judge, who accused him of “interfering in a security case” and warned him that he would be made to regret his actions.

Mr Afkari was executed on September 12 after being found guilty of killing a security official during 2018’s protests. He maintained his innocence until the end, insisting his confession was extracted through torture.