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More than twenty Olympic champions, trainers and further international athletes have put their names to a appeal calling for a end to the execution of a champion boxer and coach, who is sentenced to die in Iran.

Increasing Global Anger

Amid increasing worldwide anger over the country's increasing application of capital punishment as a instrument of repression, the forcefully phrased statement censures the government's ruling to confirm the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was arrested for being involved in countrywide demonstrations in 2019 and charged of supporting an resistance movement. He has passed five years in detention, where he has been tortured and confined in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is meant to inspire optimism, unity, and bravery,” the signatories wrote. “The death penalty of a champion for his beliefs is a direct assault on these ideals and a admonition to any competitor who ventures to voice opinions.

History of Putting to Death Sports Figures

The appeal noted that the boxer's situation was part of a pattern and highlighted Iran’s past of sentencing to death competitors for their views, such as a football captain, captain of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, captain of the female volleyball side. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a 27-year Iranian competitor, was also executed.

Further signatories to the letter consist of Tracy Edwards, who skippered the pioneering all-female crew in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to be awarded a renowned nautical honor; the ex- captain of the soccer side Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the national team for the 1978 World Cup.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was taken into custody in early 2020. The accusations against him entailed “promoting decay on Earth through incendiarism and damage of public property”. His ruling has been annulled multiple times but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the latest review. His court case was condemned as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and bodies.

Urging to UN

The urging to stop the boxer's death sentence is subsequent to a 2023 appeal to the global human rights chief for freedoms, signed by over 100 advocates and groups, calling for measures to avert the competitor's death.

Capital Punishment Escalation

As per data, there is an “execution crisis in the country, which has attained shocking proportions”. In 2023, the government put to death at least 853 people – a nearly half surge on the previous year. Last year, data showed 972 capital punishments, constituting the peak figure since two thousand fifteen. More than 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and protesters are victims, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 demonstrations. Experts say the regime have utilized the death penalty to quell opposition, create fear among the citizenry and tighten their hold on rule.