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In excess of two dozen Olympic medallists, mentors and other international athletes have put their names to a statement calling for a stop to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is on death row in the nation.

Escalating Global Anger

Amid growing global condemnation over the nation's increasing application of the death penalty as a tool of suppression, the strongly worded letter censures the Iranian regime's ruling to confirm the execution order of the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was detained for participating in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and accused of aiding an dissident organization. He has endured 60 months in detention, where he has been abused and held in solitary confinement.

“Competition is designed to promote optimism, togetherness, and bravery,” the endorsers expressed. “The capital punishment of a winner for his beliefs is a blatant attack on these values and a warning to all sportspeople who ventures to voice opinions.

History of Killing Competitors

The letter pointed out that the boxer's case was not unique and emphasized Iran’s record of executing athletes for their convictions, including a national team leader, leader of the soccer squad, and a volleyball captain, captain of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Other signatories to the statement comprise a yachting pioneer, who skippered the first all-female crew in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to be awarded a prestigious sailing award; the former skipper of the national squad a sports advocate; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the global tournament.

Apprehension and Unfair Trial

The athlete was detained in the spring of 2020. The allegations against him entailed “promoting decay on Earth through arson and ruin of government belongings”. His sentence has been reversed twice but on October 4 it was maintained on the third occasion. His trial was denounced as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and bodies.

Appeal to United Nations

The call to prevent the boxer's capital punishment follows a earlier statement to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, backed by more than a hundred rights specialists and groups, calling for measures to stop the athlete’s execution.

Execution Crisis

As per data, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has reached horrific proportions”. In the year 2023, the government executed at least over 850 people – a 48% increase on 2022. Last year, statistics showed 972 deaths, representing the highest number since two thousand fifteen. In excess of hundreds of people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Dissidents and dissidents are focus, notably in the aftermath of the 2022's protests. Analysts say the government have utilized the executions to quell opposition, instil anxiety among the public and reinforce their grip on power.