Elite Athletes Call on Iran to Prevent Death Sentence of Boxing Champion
More than twenty Olympic medal winners, mentors and additional world-class competitors have put their names to a appeal calling for a end to the capital punishment of a boxing titleholder and coach, who is sentenced to die in the country.
Growing Worldwide Condemnation
Amid increasing worldwide anger over Iran’s escalating use of capital punishment as a tool of repression, the strongly worded letter censures the Iranian regime's decision to confirm the execution order of the athlete.
The athlete, thirty, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was arrested for participating in national uprisings in the year 2019 and indicted of backing an opposition group. He has spent five years in incarceration, where he has been tortured and held in isolation.
“Athletics is meant to promote faith, unity, and courage,” the signatories wrote. “The capital punishment of a champion for his beliefs is a blatant attack on these values and a warning to any competitor who ventures to speak out.
Record of Putting to Death Competitors
The appeal noted that the athlete's circumstances was not an isolated one and emphasized the nation's past of executing competitors for their views, for example a national team leader, captain of the football side, and a volleyball captain, leader of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, an athlete, a young national wrestling champion, was put to death.
Other endorsers to the letter include Tracy Edwards, who led the pioneering female-only team in a global yacht race and was the initial female to be awarded a prestigious nautical honor; the former captain of the Australian football team an athlete; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.
Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings
Vafaei Sani was arrested in the spring of 2020. The allegations against him entailed “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and destruction of state assets”. His verdict has been reversed 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 organizations.
Urging to United Nations
The urging to halt Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment follows a 2023 letter to the United Nations official for human rights, backed by in excess of a hundred human rights experts and groups, urging intervention to prevent the sports figure's execution.
Capital Punishment Escalation
According to data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has reached alarming proportions”. In 2023, authorities sentenced at least 853 people – a 48% increase on the previous year. The year before, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two capital punishments, constituting the peak figure since two thousand fifteen. Over eight hundred people have been executed so far in 2025.
Activists and opponents are focus, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022's uprising. Analysts say the regime have utilized the executions to stifle dissent, instil anxiety among the citizenry and tighten their hold on rule.
