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Over two dozen Olympic medal winners, trainers and further global sports figures have put their names to a letter calling for a halt to the execution of a boxing champion and coach, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Increasing International Outrage

During increasing worldwide anger over the country's expanding employment of the death penalty as a means of repression, the forcefully phrased appeal censures the government's ruling to maintain the capital punishment of the athlete.

The boxer, 30, from Mashhad in the northern province, was taken into custody for participating in countrywide demonstrations in the year 2019 and charged of aiding an dissident organization. He has passed five years in prison, where he has been tortured and kept in seclusion.

“Competition is designed to promote optimism, togetherness, and courage,” the signatories wrote. “The execution of a winner for his opinions is a direct assault on these ideals and a admonition to every athlete who dares to voice opinions.

Record of Putting to Death Sports Figures

The statement pointed out that the boxer's circumstances was part of a pattern and underscored Iran’s history of putting to death competitors for their convictions, such as Habib Khabiri, leader of the football side, and a women's sports leader, captain of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a 27-year Iranian competitor, was also executed.

Other supporters to the letter consist of Tracy Edwards, who captained the pioneering female-only team in a round-the-world competition and was the pioneering lady to receive a esteemed sailing award; the ex- skipper of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the national team for the 1978 World Cup.

Apprehension and Unfair Trial

The boxer was arrested in early 2020. The allegations against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through arson and destruction of government belongings”. His sentence has been annulled multiple times but on October 4 it was upheld on the latest review. His trial was denounced as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and groups.

Appeal to UN

The call to halt Vafaei Sani’s death sentence is subsequent to a earlier statement to the UN high commissioner for rights, endorsed by in excess of a hundred human rights experts and entities, demanding action to stop the sports figure's capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

As per data, there is an “death penalty surge in the country, which has reached horrific proportions”. In two thousand twenty-three, the government executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a 48% surge on 2022. The year before, records showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, representing the highest number since two thousand fifteen. More than eight hundred people have been executed so far in 2025.

Activists and dissidents are targets, particularly in the wake of the 2022 protests. Specialists say the regime have employed the death penalty to suppress protest, create fear among the public and reinforce their grip on rule.