🔗 Share this article

More than 20 Olympic medal winners, coaches and additional global sports figures have put their names to a appeal demanding a end to the capital punishment of a champion boxer and trainer, who is on death row in the nation.

Escalating International Outrage

During rising international outrage over the nation's escalating use of the death penalty as a instrument of suppression, the powerfully expressed letter censures the Iranian regime's verdict to confirm the execution order of the boxing champion.

The athlete, thirty, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for participating in national uprisings in the year 2019 and charged of backing an resistance movement. He has spent half a decade in incarceration, where he has been abused and held in seclusion.

“Athletics is meant to promote optimism, togetherness, and fortitude,” the signatories expressed. “The death penalty of a champion for his opinions is a direct assault on these values and a admonition to any competitor who dares to speak out.

Pattern of Executing Competitors

The appeal noted that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was not an isolated one and emphasized Iran’s history of executing competitors for their convictions, for example a national team leader, captain of the football side, and a women's sports leader, captain of the female volleyball side. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a 27-year Iranian wrestling champion, was put to death.

Other endorsers to the letter consist of Tracy Edwards, who captained the first all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to earn a renowned sailing award; the previous captain of the soccer side Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the global tournament.

Detention and Unfair Trial

Vafaei Sani was arrested in the spring of 2020. The charges against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and damage of government belongings”. His sentence has been overturned multiple times but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the latest review. His trial was denounced as “grossly unfair” by advocates and groups.

Urging to UN

The appeal to halt the boxer's death sentence follows a earlier statement to the UN high commissioner for human rights, backed by over a hundred advocates and entities, urging action to avert the competitor's capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to data, there is an “execution crisis in the nation, which has reached shocking levels”. In two thousand twenty-three, authorities executed at least over 850 people – a nearly half rise on the previous year. In the prior period, records showed nearly a thousand deaths, marking the maximum count since 2015. Over hundreds of people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Dissidents and dissidents are victims, notably in the wake of the 2022 demonstrations. Specialists say the regime have employed the death penalty to stifle opposition, create apprehension among the citizenry and strengthen their control on power.