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Over twenty Olympic medallists, mentors and additional world-class competitors have put their names to a letter calling for a stop to the death penalty of a champion boxer and coach, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Growing International Outrage

Amid increasing global condemnation over the nation's escalating use of capital punishment as a tool of suppression, the forcefully phrased appeal condemns the Iranian regime's decision to uphold the capital punishment of the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for participating in nationwide protests in the year 2019 and indicted of aiding an dissident organization. He has spent five years in prison, where he has been mistreated and confined in isolation.

“Sport is intended to inspire hope, unity, and courage,” the supporters expressed. “The capital punishment of a champion for his opinions is a blatant attack on these values and a warning to any competitor who dares to express dissent.

History of Killing Athletes

The statement noted that the athlete's situation was part of a pattern and underscored the country's past of executing athletes for their convictions, such as a national team leader, captain of the national football team, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old national sports titleholder, was also executed.

Additional signatories to the statement consist of a sailing champion, who skippered the pioneering all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the pioneering lady to earn a renowned yachting trophy; the previous skipper of the national squad an athlete; and a footballer, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Apprehension and Unfair Trial

Vafaei Sani was detained in the spring of 2020. The accusations against him comprised “promoting decay on Earth through arson and destruction of public property”. His verdict has been annulled multiple times but on 4 October it was upheld on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was criticized as “grossly unfair” by rights defenders and groups.

Urging to International Body

The appeal to stop Vafaei Sani’s death sentence follows a earlier letter to the UN high commissioner for rights, endorsed by more than a hundred human rights experts and entities, calling for intervention to prevent the athlete’s death.

Death Penalty Surge

According to data, there is an “execution crisis in the nation, which has achieved horrific dimensions”. In two thousand twenty-three, authorities sentenced at least over 850 people – a 48% rise on 2022. Last year, data showed nine hundred seventy-two executions, constituting the maximum count since the year 2015. In excess of 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and dissidents are targets, notably in the wake of the 2022 protests. Experts say the regime have utilized the death penalty to suppress protest, instil fear among the public and reinforce their control on rule.