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More than two dozen Olympic champions, mentors and additional international athletes have endorsed a appeal urging a end to the death penalty of a champion boxer and instructor, who is facing execution in the country.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

Amid increasing international outrage over Iran’s increasing application of the death penalty as a tool of suppression, the powerfully expressed letter denounces the authorities's decision to confirm the capital punishment of the boxing champion.

The athlete, three decades old, from the city in north-east Iran, was taken into custody for taking part in nationwide protests in 2019 and indicted of backing an resistance movement. He has spent five years in prison, where he has been tortured and confined in seclusion.

“Athletics is intended to inspire faith, solidarity, and courage,” the endorsers expressed. “The death penalty of a winner for his opinions is a clear violation on these ideals and a admonition to all sportspeople who ventures to voice opinions.

Pattern of Putting to Death Athletes

The letter pointed out that the boxer's circumstances was part of a pattern and underscored Iran’s record of putting to death competitors for their convictions, for example Habib Khabiri, skipper of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the female volleyball side. In two thousand twenty, Navid Afkari, a 27-year Iranian sports titleholder, was also executed.

Other signatories to the letter comprise a sailing champion, who skippered the first all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the pioneering lady to earn a esteemed nautical honor; the previous leader of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the country's selection for the global tournament.

Detention and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was detained in March 2020. The charges against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and ruin of public property”. His ruling has been reversed on two occasions but on October 4 it was confirmed on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was condemned as “highly unjust” by human rights activists and bodies.

Call to UN

The call to stop Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment is subsequent to a previous appeal to the United Nations official for rights, endorsed by over a hundred human rights experts and entities, calling for measures to avert the sports figure's execution.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to findings, there is an “execution crisis in the nation, which has achieved shocking proportions”. In the year 2023, authorities sentenced at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a forty-eight percent rise on 2022. The year before, statistics showed 972 capital punishments, constituting the maximum count since 2015. Over 800 people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Dissidents and protesters are targets, particularly in the aftermath of the the year 2022 protests. Experts say the government have utilized the death penalty to stifle protest, generate apprehension among the public and tighten their grip on authority.