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More than twenty Olympic medal winners, coaches and additional global sports figures have put their names to a appeal urging a stop to the execution of a boxing champion and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Increasing Worldwide Condemnation

During increasing international outrage over the country's expanding employment of capital punishment as a means of oppression, the forcefully phrased letter condemns the government's decision to maintain the capital punishment of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The athlete, 30, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was detained for taking part in countrywide demonstrations in the year 2019 and indicted of backing an opposition group. He has passed half a decade in detention, where he has been tortured and kept in solitary confinement.

“Sport is meant to promote faith, togetherness, and bravery,” the signatories stated. “The capital punishment of a champion for his political views is a direct assault on these values and a warning to every athlete who attempts to voice opinions.

Pattern of Executing Competitors

The statement said that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not unique and highlighted the country's history of executing athletes for their beliefs, including a national team leader, leader of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, an athlete, a 27-year-old national competitor, was also executed.

Additional endorsers to the letter include a yachting pioneer, who captained the first women's squad in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to receive a renowned yachting trophy; the previous captain of the soccer side an athlete; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

The athlete was arrested in March 2020. The charges against him entailed “causing deterioration on Earth through arson and ruin of state assets”. His verdict has been annulled twice but on 4 October it was maintained on the third occasion. His trial was criticized as “grossly unfair” by advocates and groups.

Appeal to United Nations

The call to stop the boxer's death sentence is subsequent to a earlier letter to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, signed by more than 100 human rights experts and groups, calling for action to stop the sports figure's death.

Death Penalty Surge

Based on data, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has achieved alarming proportions”. In 2023, officials sentenced at least 853 people – a 48% surge on 2022. In the prior period, records showed 972 executions, constituting the highest number since 2015. More than 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and protesters are focus, especially in the aftermath of the the year 2022 uprising. Specialists say the regime have employed the capital punishment to stifle dissent, generate apprehension among the citizenry and strengthen their control on rule.