🔗 Share this article

In excess of twenty Olympic medallists, coaches and other international athletes have endorsed a appeal urging a halt to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and coach, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Escalating International Outrage

Amid growing international outrage over the nation's increasing application of executions as a means of suppression, the strongly worded appeal denounces the Iranian regime's decision to uphold the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The athlete, three decades old, from the city in north-east Iran, was taken into custody for taking part in national uprisings in 2019 and accused of backing an opposition group. He has spent 60 months in detention, where he has been abused and confined in seclusion.

“Athletics is meant to inspire optimism, togetherness, and fortitude,” the supporters wrote. “The death penalty of a winner for his beliefs is a clear violation on these principles and a warning to all sportspeople who dares to speak out.

History of Executing Competitors

The letter pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s case was not an isolated one and emphasized Iran’s past of executing athletes for their convictions, for example a football captain, captain of the soccer squad, and a women's sports leader, captain of the national women’s volleyball team. In 2020, an athlete, a 27-year Iranian sports titleholder, was also executed.

Additional supporters to the statement include Tracy Edwards, who captained the first women's squad in a global yacht race and was the initial female to receive a prestigious nautical honor; the previous leader of the soccer side a sports advocate; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the global tournament.

Arrest and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was detained in the spring of 2020. The charges against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through arson and damage of public property”. His verdict has been overturned twice but on 4 October it was confirmed on the third occasion. His trial was criticized as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and organizations.

Urging to UN

The appeal to halt the boxer's execution is subsequent to a earlier appeal to the United Nations official for freedoms, signed by in excess of a hundred advocates and entities, demanding action to prevent the athlete’s death.

Capital Punishment Escalation

As per data, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has reached horrific dimensions”. In 2023, authorities sentenced at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent surge on the previous year. The year before, data showed nearly a thousand executions, constituting the peak figure since the year 2015. More than hundreds of people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and protesters are focus, especially in the aftermath of the 2022's protests. Specialists say the regime have employed the death penalty to quell protest, generate anxiety among the public and strengthen their control on rule.