🔗 Share this article

In excess of 20 Olympic medallists, mentors and further international athletes have endorsed a letter calling for a halt to the capital punishment of a champion boxer and instructor, who is sentenced to die in Iran.

Increasing Worldwide Condemnation

During growing global condemnation over the country's escalating use of the death penalty as a means of repression, the powerfully expressed statement condemns the authorities's verdict to uphold the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The boxer, thirty, from the city in the northeastern region, was arrested for participating in nationwide protests in the year 2019 and indicted of supporting an opposition group. He has passed half a decade in detention, where he has been abused and kept in isolation.

“Competition is designed to inspire faith, solidarity, and courage,” the endorsers stated. “The capital punishment of a titleholder for his opinions is a direct assault on these ideals and a warning to any competitor who attempts to voice opinions.

Record of Executing Sports Figures

The statement pointed out that the boxer's case was not unique and emphasized the nation's history of sentencing to death competitors for their views, including a national team leader, captain of the national football team, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a young Iranian wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Other supporters to the appeal consist of a sailing champion, who led the first all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the pioneering lady to receive a prestigious sailing award; the former leader of the Australian football team an athlete; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Arrest and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was arrested in the spring of 2020. The charges against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and ruin of state assets”. His sentence has been overturned multiple times but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the latest review. His trial was criticized as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and groups.

Urging to United Nations

The call to prevent Vafaei Sani’s execution follows a earlier letter to the global human rights chief for rights, backed by more than one hundred human rights experts and organizations, demanding measures to avert the athlete’s capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

According to reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has attained shocking levels”. In two thousand twenty-three, officials executed at least over 850 people – a nearly half surge on 2022. The year before, data showed nearly a thousand deaths, constituting the peak figure since the year 2015. More than hundreds of people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Dissidents and dissidents are victims, particularly in the wake of the 2022's demonstrations. Specialists say the government have employed the death penalty to suppress dissent, generate apprehension among the public and strengthen their hold on rule.