Over 20 Olympic champions, mentors and other world-class competitors have signed a letter urging a stop to the death penalty of a champion boxer and trainer, who is on death row in Iran.
Escalating Global Anger
During growing international outrage over the country's escalating use of executions as a means of oppression, the strongly worded appeal denounces the Iranian regime's decision to confirm the execution order of the athlete.
The boxer, 30, from the city in the northern province, was detained for taking part in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and indicted of aiding an opposition group. He has passed 60 months in detention, where he has been tortured and held in seclusion.
“Sport is meant to inspire faith, solidarity, and courage,” the endorsers wrote. “The capital punishment of a titleholder for his beliefs is a clear violation on these principles and a admonition to all sportspeople who attempts to express dissent.
History of Executing Athletes
The statement noted that the athlete's situation was not an isolated one and underscored the nation's history of putting to death athletes for their beliefs, such as Habib Khabiri, leader of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In 2020, an athlete, a 27-year national wrestling champion, was put to death.
Further signatories to the appeal comprise a yachting pioneer, who led the inaugural women's squad in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to earn a esteemed sailing award; the ex- leader of the soccer side Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the Iranian squad for the global tournament.
Detention and Unfair Trial
Vafaei Sani was taken into custody in March 2020. The allegations against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and damage of state assets”. His verdict has been reversed twice but on October 4 it was confirmed on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was criticized as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and organizations.
Appeal to International Body
The call to prevent Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment follows a 2023 statement to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, backed by more than a hundred human rights experts and organizations, calling for measures to stop the athlete’s execution.
Death Penalty Surge
According to data, there is an “execution crisis in the country, which has achieved shocking proportions”. In 2023, authorities put to death at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a forty-eight percent increase on the previous year. In the prior period, records showed 972 executions, marking the peak figure since two thousand fifteen. More than hundreds of people have been executed so far in 2025.
Dissidents and protesters are targets, particularly in the aftermath of the the year 2022 uprising. Analysts say the regime have used the executions to suppress protest, instil anxiety among the public and tighten their control on rule.
