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In excess of twenty Olympic medallists, mentors and additional international athletes have signed a letter demanding a halt to the death penalty of a champion boxer and coach, who is facing execution in Iran.

Growing International Outrage

Amidst increasing international outrage over Iran’s expanding employment of capital punishment as a means of suppression, the forcefully phrased statement condemns the Iranian regime's decision to maintain the capital punishment of the athlete.

The boxer, thirty, from the city in north-east Iran, was taken into custody for taking part in nationwide protests in 2019 and indicted of supporting an dissident organization. He has endured half a decade in prison, where he has been tortured and kept in seclusion.

“Competition is designed to inspire faith, togetherness, and courage,” the signatories expressed. “The death penalty of a winner for his political views is a direct assault on these principles and a warning to all sportspeople who ventures to express dissent.

Record of Executing Sports Figures

The statement said that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was not unique and emphasized the nation's past of sentencing to death athletes for their views, for example a national team leader, leader of the national football team, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, an athlete, a 27-year-old national competitor, was put to death.

Other supporters to the letter include Tracy Edwards, who led the first women's squad in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to receive a esteemed sailing award; the ex- skipper of the Australian football team a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Detention and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was taken into custody in March 2020. The charges against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and destruction of state assets”. His verdict has been annulled multiple times but on October 4 it was upheld on the third occasion. His court case was denounced as “highly unjust” by advocates and groups.

Call to International Body

The call to halt Vafaei Sani’s death sentence is subsequent to a earlier statement to the United Nations official for freedoms, signed by in excess of 100 human rights experts and entities, demanding measures to stop the sports figure's capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

Based on findings, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has reached shocking levels”. In 2023, officials executed at least over 850 people – a nearly half increase on 2022. Last year, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two executions, marking the highest number since 2015. Over 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Dissidents and protesters are focus, notably in the wake of the 2022 protests. Experts say the government have used the capital punishment to stifle protest, instil fear among the population and reinforce their grip on rule.