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In excess of twenty Olympic champions, mentors and further world-class competitors have put their names to a letter demanding a halt to the capital punishment of a champion boxer and coach, who is on death row in Iran.

Growing Global Anger

Amidst rising international outrage over the country's escalating use of executions as a means of suppression, the forcefully phrased letter censures the government's decision to maintain the capital punishment of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

Vafaei Sani, 30, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for being involved in national uprisings in 2019 and indicted of supporting an resistance movement. He has passed 60 months in prison, where he has been mistreated and confined in solitary confinement.

“Sport is designed to promote optimism, togetherness, and courage,” the supporters stated. “The execution of a titleholder for his political views is a blatant attack on these values and a warning to every athlete who attempts to express dissent.

Record of Putting to Death Athletes

The appeal said that Vafaei Sani’s case was not an isolated one and underscored Iran’s record of sentencing to death competitors for their beliefs, for example a football captain, captain of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, leader of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old Iranian sports titleholder, faced the death penalty.

Further signatories to the statement include Tracy Edwards, who led the first female-only team in a global yacht race and was the pioneering lady to earn a esteemed nautical honor; the former skipper of the national squad a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the global tournament.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was taken into custody in early 2020. The charges against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and damage of state assets”. His ruling has been overturned twice but on October 4 it was maintained on the latest review. His legal proceedings was criticized as “highly unjust” by human rights activists and bodies.

Appeal to UN

The appeal to prevent Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment comes after a 2023 letter to the United Nations official for freedoms, endorsed by in excess of 100 human rights experts and groups, calling for intervention to prevent the athlete’s capital punishment.

Execution Crisis

Based on findings, there is an “death penalty surge in the country, which has achieved horrific proportions”. In the year 2023, officials sentenced at least over 850 people – a nearly half rise on the previous year. In the prior period, data showed nearly a thousand deaths, marking the peak figure since 2015. More than hundreds of people have been executed so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and opponents are victims, particularly in the aftermath of the the year 2022 demonstrations. Analysts say the Iranian authorities have employed the executions to quell dissent, instil apprehension among the public and tighten their hold on authority.