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In excess of 20 Olympic medal winners, trainers and further international athletes have endorsed a statement calling for a stop to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is facing execution in the country.

Growing International Outrage

Amidst growing global condemnation over the nation's increasing application of executions as a means of repression, the strongly worded appeal censures the Iranian regime's verdict to uphold the execution order of the athlete.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from the city in north-east Iran, was arrested for participating in nationwide protests in the year 2019 and accused of aiding an resistance movement. He has passed five years in prison, where he has been abused and kept in solitary confinement.

“Competition is designed to inspire faith, solidarity, and bravery,” the supporters stated. “The death penalty of a champion for his opinions is a direct assault on these ideals and a admonition to any competitor who dares to speak out.

Record of Putting to Death Competitors

The letter pointed out that the boxer's situation was not an isolated one and highlighted the nation's record of putting to death athletes for their convictions, including Habib Khabiri, leader of the football side, and a volleyball captain, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In the year 2020, an athlete, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, was put to death.

Additional supporters to the letter comprise a yachting pioneer, who captained the pioneering women's squad in a international sailing event and was the initial female to receive a prestigious nautical honor; the former leader of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Apprehension and Unfair Trial

The athlete was taken into custody in early 2020. The charges against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through incendiarism and damage of public property”. His verdict has been overturned multiple times but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the third attempt. His trial was condemned as “deeply biased” by advocates and organizations.

Urging to United Nations

The urging to stop Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment comes after a earlier statement to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, signed by in excess of 100 rights specialists and entities, calling for intervention to stop the sports figure's capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

As per data, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has reached alarming dimensions”. In two thousand twenty-three, the government executed at least 853 people – a nearly half surge on 2022. The year before, data showed 972 capital punishments, marking the maximum count since the year 2015. Over eight hundred people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and protesters are targets, particularly in the wake of the 2022's protests. Analysts say the regime have used the capital punishment to suppress opposition, generate fear among the citizenry and strengthen their control on authority.