🔗 Share this article

More than two dozen Olympic medal winners, mentors and further international athletes have signed a letter demanding a stop to the execution of a champion boxer and trainer, who is on death row in the nation.

Growing Worldwide Condemnation

Amid increasing international outrage over the nation's expanding employment of executions as a instrument of repression, the powerfully expressed statement censures the government's ruling to uphold the death sentence of the athlete.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for taking part in countrywide demonstrations in two thousand nineteen and accused of supporting an opposition group. He has spent five years in prison, where he has been abused and confined in isolation.

“Sport is meant to inspire optimism, togetherness, and bravery,” the endorsers wrote. “The capital punishment of a titleholder for his beliefs is a direct assault on these values and a admonition to any competitor who dares to express dissent.

Pattern of Executing Sports Figures

The statement pointed out that the boxer's circumstances was not unique and highlighted Iran’s history of putting to death athletes for their views, including a national team leader, skipper of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the female volleyball side. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year national wrestling champion, was also executed.

Additional endorsers to the letter comprise Tracy Edwards, who captained the inaugural female-only team in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to be awarded a prestigious yachting trophy; the former skipper of the national squad Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

The athlete was arrested in March 2020. The accusations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and destruction of government belongings”. His verdict has been annulled on two occasions but on 4 October it was confirmed on the latest review. His court case was criticized as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and organizations.

Appeal to United Nations

The appeal to prevent Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment follows a previous statement to the United Nations official for rights, signed by over one hundred rights specialists and entities, demanding action to stop the athlete’s execution.

Death Penalty Surge

Based on findings, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has achieved horrific levels”. In 2023, the government put to death at least over 850 people – a 48% increase on the previous year. In the prior period, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two deaths, representing the maximum count since two thousand fifteen. Over 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Dissidents and dissidents are focus, notably in the wake of the the year 2022 protests. Specialists say the regime have used the capital punishment to quell protest, instil fear among the citizenry and strengthen their hold on authority.