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Over twenty Olympic champions, mentors and additional international athletes have endorsed a letter demanding a halt to the execution of a champion boxer and coach, who is sentenced to die in Iran.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

Amid rising international outrage over the nation's increasing application of executions as a instrument of repression, the strongly worded letter censures the authorities's ruling to confirm the capital punishment of the athlete.

The boxer, 30, from Mashhad in the northern province, was taken into custody for participating in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and charged of backing an resistance movement. He has spent five years in incarceration, where he has been abused and kept in isolation.

“Competition is meant to encourage hope, unity, and fortitude,” the endorsers stated. “The execution of a titleholder for his beliefs is a direct assault on these ideals and a admonition to any competitor who dares to speak out.

History of Putting to Death Competitors

The appeal pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not an isolated one and highlighted Iran’s record of executing sports champions for their views, including a national team leader, captain of the soccer squad, and a volleyball captain, captain of the female volleyball side. In 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Additional supporters to the statement comprise Tracy Edwards, who skippered the inaugural female-only team in a international sailing event and was the initial female to be awarded a renowned nautical honor; the ex- leader of the Australian football team a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the national team for the 1978 World Cup.

Apprehension and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was detained in early 2020. The allegations against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through incendiarism and ruin of public property”. His verdict has been overturned on two occasions but on October 4 it was confirmed on the latest review. His trial was denounced as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and bodies.

Call to International Body

The urging to prevent the athlete's capital punishment follows a 2023 appeal to the global human rights chief for rights, backed by in excess of 100 advocates and organizations, demanding measures to prevent the sports figure's execution.

Death Penalty Surge

According to data, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has reached shocking dimensions”. In 2023, the government sentenced at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a nearly half increase on 2022. In the prior period, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two capital punishments, marking the peak figure since the year 2015. In excess of 800 people have been executed so far in 2025.

Dissidents and opponents are focus, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 protests. Specialists say the government have utilized the executions to suppress dissent, instil anxiety among the population and strengthen their hold on authority.