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Over 20 Olympic medallists, mentors and other international athletes have endorsed a statement urging a stop to the death penalty of a champion boxer and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

Amidst increasing global condemnation over the country's escalating use of executions as a instrument of oppression, the powerfully expressed appeal condemns the authorities's verdict to uphold the death sentence of the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for taking part in nationwide protests in two thousand nineteen and accused of aiding an dissident organization. He has passed 60 months in detention, where he has been mistreated and held in isolation.

“Sport is meant to encourage optimism, solidarity, and courage,” the supporters expressed. “The death penalty of a champion for his political views is a blatant attack on these ideals and a caution to every athlete who ventures to express dissent.

Pattern of Killing Competitors

The statement said that Vafaei Sani’s case was part of a pattern and underscored the nation's past of sentencing to death competitors for their views, for example a football captain, skipper of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, skipper of the women's volleyball squad. In the year 2020, an athlete, a 27-year national competitor, was also executed.

Further supporters to the letter consist of a sailing champion, who led the inaugural female-only team in a round-the-world competition and was the pioneering lady to earn a renowned nautical honor; the ex- skipper of the national squad Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the Iranian squad for the 1978 World Cup.

Arrest and Unfair Trial

The boxer was detained in the spring of 2020. The charges against him entailed “promoting decay on Earth through fire-setting and destruction of state assets”. His ruling has been reversed multiple times but on October 4 it was confirmed on the third occasion. His trial was denounced as “grossly unfair” by advocates and bodies.

Appeal to United Nations

The urging to prevent the boxer's execution follows a 2023 letter to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, backed by in excess of a hundred rights specialists and groups, urging intervention to stop the sports figure's execution.

Capital Punishment Escalation

Based on reports, there is an “execution crisis in the nation, which has achieved alarming proportions”. In two thousand twenty-three, authorities put to death at least 853 people – a 48% increase on 2022. In the prior period, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two capital punishments, marking the peak figure since 2015. Over 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and protesters are focus, especially in the wake of the 2022 protests. Analysts say the regime have used the capital punishment to stifle opposition, generate fear among the citizenry and reinforce their hold on power.