Meeting of the Working Group on Sport & Human Rights

The Working Group on Sport and Human Rights, which took place on 2 March 2023 in the Haus des Sports, discussed global political issues and their impact on domestic sport. Numerous sports associations and umbrella organisations, the ÖOC and ÖPC, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Sport and NGOs from the human rights sector discussed the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and, above all, the situation of Iranian athletes.

Iranian athletes protest against dictatorship 

Background: Since September 2022, people in Iran have once again taken to the streets and risked their lives to raise their voices against an oppressive regime. The trigger for the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran is the death of the 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini. She fell into a coma in police custody after being arrested by the so-called morality police in Tehran. Her headscarf did not cover her hair according to the regulations, according to the accusation. Amini died three days after her arrest.

Since then, protests have grown in size and intensity. Amnesty estimates that more than 500 people have been killed and nearly 20,000 protesters arrested since the protests began. Athletes are also affected by the protests. Many athletes are using their role model effect and their own power to act to draw international attention to the grievances in Iran.

The memo prepared in advance by Michael Fanizadeh (VIDC), which reflects the current situation of Iranian athletes and also highlights individual fates on the ground, served as the basis for the discussion of possible fields of action by the various WG members.
As an example, the possibility of so-called "sponsorships" for Iranian athletes was raised in the working group: Already in January, the VIDC took on a political sponsorship for one of the most prominent women's rights activists in Iran, Mozhgan Keshavarz.

In April, various Austrian federal councillors and members of parliament sponsored 183 prisoners and sent a public letter in which the Minister of Sport, Werner Kogler, demanded the release of the karate champion Saleh Mirhashemi, who had been sentenced to death in Iran.