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More than 20 Olympic medal winners, trainers and additional international athletes have put their names to a appeal demanding a halt to the capital punishment of a champion boxer and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Escalating International Outrage

During increasing international outrage over the country's escalating use of the death penalty as a instrument of repression, the powerfully expressed statement denounces the Iranian regime's verdict to confirm the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The athlete, three decades old, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was detained for taking part in nationwide protests in two thousand nineteen and accused of backing an opposition group. He has passed 60 months in incarceration, where he has been tortured and held in isolation.

“Sport is meant to promote faith, solidarity, and bravery,” the endorsers stated. “The capital punishment of a champion for his beliefs is a blatant attack on these values and a admonition to any competitor who attempts to express dissent.

Pattern of Killing Athletes

The appeal pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not unique and underscored the country's record of executing sports champions for their beliefs, for example a national team leader, captain of the national football team, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old Iranian competitor, was also executed.

Other endorsers to the appeal consist of a yachting pioneer, who led the inaugural all-female crew in a international sailing event and was the first woman to be awarded a prestigious nautical honor; the ex- skipper of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the global tournament.

Detention and Flawed Legal Process

The athlete was detained in the spring of 2020. The charges against him entailed “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and damage of government belongings”. His sentence has been annulled on two occasions but on October 4 it was confirmed on the third occasion. His court case was criticized as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and organizations.

Urging to International Body

The appeal to prevent the boxer's death sentence is subsequent to a 2023 letter to the UN high commissioner for human rights, backed by more than 100 advocates and entities, demanding intervention to prevent the competitor's execution.

Death Penalty Surge

According to reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has attained horrific proportions”. In the year 2023, the government put to death at least 853 people – a 48% rise on 2022. Last year, data showed nearly a thousand executions, marking the highest number since 2015. Over 800 people have been executed so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and dissidents are targets, particularly in the aftermath of the the year 2022 protests. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have utilized the death penalty to stifle dissent, instil anxiety among the population and tighten their grip on authority.