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More than twenty Olympic champions, coaches and other world-class competitors have endorsed a letter demanding a halt to the execution of a champion boxer and instructor, who is on death row in Iran.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

During rising worldwide anger over Iran’s expanding employment of executions as a means of repression, the powerfully expressed appeal censures the government's verdict to maintain the capital punishment of the athlete.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from the city in north-east Iran, was arrested for taking part in national uprisings in 2019 and charged of supporting an resistance movement. He has passed five years in detention, where he has been abused and held in seclusion.

“Competition is designed to inspire hope, togetherness, and bravery,” the signatories wrote. “The death penalty of a winner for his opinions is a clear violation on these principles and a admonition to any competitor who ventures to speak out.

Pattern of Killing Competitors

The letter noted that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was not an isolated one and emphasized Iran’s history of sentencing to death sports champions for their beliefs, such as a football captain, captain of the soccer squad, and a women's sports leader, captain of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a 27-year national sports titleholder, faced the death penalty.

Other supporters to the appeal consist of Tracy Edwards, who skippered the first female-only team in a international sailing event and was the first woman to be awarded a renowned yachting trophy; the previous captain of the soccer side a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Apprehension and Flawed Legal Process

The athlete was taken into custody in March 2020. The allegations against him comprised “promoting decay on Earth through incendiarism and ruin of government belongings”. His verdict has been annulled on two occasions but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the latest review. His court case was denounced as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and groups.

Urging to International Body

The appeal to stop the boxer's execution follows a earlier appeal to the UN high commissioner for human rights, signed by more than a hundred advocates and entities, calling for intervention to avert the athlete’s capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

According to findings, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has attained alarming proportions”. In 2023, officials sentenced at least 853 people – a 48% rise on the previous year. The year before, statistics showed nearly a thousand deaths, representing the peak figure since the year 2015. Over hundreds of people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Dissidents and dissidents are victims, particularly in the wake of the the year 2022 uprising. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have utilized the executions to quell protest, create apprehension among the public and strengthen their control on authority.