🔗 Share this article Elite Athletes Urge on Iran to Halt Death Sentence of Boxing Champion More than two dozen Olympic champions, trainers and additional world-class competitors have put their names to a letter urging a halt to the capital punishment of a boxing champion and coach, who is on death row in Iran. Increasing International Outrage During growing international outrage over Iran’s expanding employment of capital punishment as a instrument of oppression, the forcefully phrased appeal denounces the Iranian regime's decision to maintain the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani. Vafaei Sani, 30, from the city in the northern province, was detained for taking part in countrywide demonstrations in the year 2019 and indicted of supporting an resistance movement. He has spent half a decade in detention, where he has been mistreated and kept in seclusion. “Sport is designed to inspire optimism, togetherness, and bravery,” the signatories stated. “The death penalty of a champion for his beliefs is a blatant attack on these ideals and a caution to every athlete who ventures to voice opinions. History of Killing Competitors The letter said that the boxer's case was not an isolated one and highlighted the country's history of sentencing to death athletes for their convictions, including a football captain, leader of the soccer squad, and a volleyball captain, captain of the national women’s volleyball team. In 2020, Navid Afkari, a young Iranian sports titleholder, was also executed. Other supporters to the statement consist of Tracy Edwards, who led the inaugural women's squad in a global yacht race and was the pioneering lady to earn a prestigious yachting trophy; the former leader of the national squad a sports advocate; and a footballer, who was in the Iranian squad for the global tournament. Arrest and Unjust Proceedings The athlete was detained in early 2020. The accusations against him entailed “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and damage of public property”. His verdict has been annulled multiple times but on 4 October it was maintained on the third occasion. His court case was condemned as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and organizations. Appeal to United Nations The urging to prevent the boxer's capital punishment follows a earlier statement to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, signed by in excess of one hundred human rights experts and entities, demanding intervention to stop the competitor's capital punishment. Execution Crisis According to reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has achieved shocking dimensions”. In the year 2023, officials put to death at least over 850 people – a nearly half surge on the previous year. Last year, records showed nine hundred seventy-two deaths, representing the maximum count since the year 2015. In excess of hundreds of people have been executed so far in 2025. Activists and protesters are targets, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 uprising. Experts say the Iranian authorities have employed the death penalty to quell opposition, instil anxiety among the public and strengthen their control on power.