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More than 20 Olympic champions, mentors and other international athletes have signed a statement calling for a stop to the execution of a champion boxer and trainer, who is on death row in the nation.

Growing Global Anger

Amidst growing worldwide anger over the country's expanding employment of executions as a means of suppression, the powerfully expressed statement condemns the Iranian regime's verdict to confirm the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from the city in north-east Iran, was arrested for being involved in national uprisings in the year 2019 and indicted of supporting an opposition group. He has endured 60 months in prison, where he has been tortured and confined in seclusion.

“Sport is meant to inspire hope, unity, and courage,” the supporters stated. “The capital punishment of a titleholder for his political views is a clear violation on these values and a caution to every athlete who attempts to voice opinions.

Record of Killing Sports Figures

The letter said that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not an isolated one and underscored the nation's record of executing athletes for their convictions, for example a national team leader, captain of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a 27-year national sports titleholder, was put to death.

Other signatories to the statement include a sailing champion, who skippered the first women's squad in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to be awarded a renowned nautical honor; the former captain of the Australian football team a sports advocate; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the international competition.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

The athlete was arrested in the spring of 2020. The charges against him entailed “spreading corruption on Earth through arson and damage of state assets”. His ruling has been overturned multiple times but on 4 October it was maintained on the latest review. His court case was condemned as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and groups.

Call to United Nations

The urging to stop the boxer's death sentence is subsequent to a previous appeal to the United Nations official for rights, backed by in excess of a hundred rights specialists and groups, calling for measures to avert the athlete’s capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

As per reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has achieved alarming proportions”. In the year 2023, officials executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a nearly half increase on 2022. In the prior period, statistics showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, representing the peak figure since 2015. Over 800 people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and protesters are targets, especially in the aftermath of the 2022's demonstrations. Analysts say the government have utilized the executions to quell dissent, generate fear among the population and tighten their hold on rule.