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More than 20 Olympic champions, mentors and additional global sports figures have signed a statement demanding a halt to the capital punishment of a champion boxer and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Growing Worldwide Condemnation

Amid growing international outrage over the country's escalating use of the death penalty as a instrument of oppression, the strongly worded appeal condemns the Iranian regime's verdict to maintain the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for being involved in national uprisings in 2019 and charged of backing an opposition group. He has passed half a decade in incarceration, where he has been mistreated and confined in solitary confinement.

“Sport is intended to inspire hope, togetherness, and bravery,” the signatories expressed. “The execution of a champion for his opinions is a clear violation on these ideals and a warning to any competitor who ventures to express dissent.

Pattern of Executing Competitors

The appeal said that the athlete's circumstances was not an isolated one and underscored Iran’s history of putting to death competitors for their views, such as a football captain, 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 national sports titleholder, faced the death penalty.

Additional endorsers to the appeal comprise a sailing champion, who captained the inaugural female-only team in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to receive a renowned sailing award; the former skipper of the national squad an athlete; and a sports figure, who was in the Iranian squad for the 1978 World Cup.

Detention and Flawed Legal Process

The athlete was taken into custody in March 2020. The accusations against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and ruin of public property”. His verdict has been annulled on two occasions but on 4 October it was upheld on the third occasion. His court case was condemned as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and bodies.

Urging to United Nations

The appeal to halt the athlete's capital punishment follows a 2023 letter to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, endorsed by in excess of 100 human rights experts and organizations, calling for measures to avert the athlete’s death.

Execution Crisis

According to reports, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has reached alarming levels”. In the year 2023, the government put to death at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent surge on 2022. Last year, records showed nine hundred seventy-two capital punishments, representing the peak figure since 2015. In excess of eight hundred people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and opponents are focus, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022's uprising. Experts say the regime have utilized the death penalty to suppress dissent, instil anxiety among the population and strengthen their hold on power.