🔗 Share this article

Over two dozen Olympic champions, mentors and other global sports figures have put their names to a appeal demanding a halt to the death penalty of a champion boxer and coach, who is facing execution in the nation.

Growing International Outrage

During growing worldwide anger over the nation's expanding employment of capital punishment as a means of repression, the forcefully phrased statement censures the authorities's verdict to confirm the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The athlete, three decades old, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was arrested for participating in nationwide protests in 2019 and indicted of supporting an dissident organization. He has spent half a decade in incarceration, where he has been abused and held in isolation.

“Athletics is intended to encourage faith, solidarity, and fortitude,” the signatories stated. “The capital punishment of a winner for his political views is a direct assault on these ideals and a warning to all sportspeople who ventures to voice opinions.

Pattern of Putting to Death Sports Figures

The appeal pointed out that the athlete's circumstances was not an isolated one and highlighted Iran’s record of executing sports champions for their beliefs, such as a football captain, leader of the national football team, and a women's sports leader, leader of the women's volleyball squad. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a young national wrestling champion, was also executed.

Additional supporters to the letter include a yachting pioneer, who led the first all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the initial female to be awarded a renowned nautical honor; the ex- skipper of the soccer side an athlete; and a sports figure, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Detention and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was taken into custody in the spring of 2020. The charges against him entailed “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and destruction of government belongings”. His ruling has been annulled twice but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was criticized as “deeply biased” by advocates and groups.

Call to UN

The urging to stop Vafaei Sani’s death sentence is subsequent to a 2023 letter to the UN high commissioner for rights, signed by over one hundred human rights experts and entities, urging measures to avert the athlete’s capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

As per reports, there is an “execution crisis in the country, which has reached horrific levels”. In two thousand twenty-three, the government put to death at least over 850 people – a nearly half rise on 2022. Last year, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two capital punishments, marking the peak figure since 2015. In excess of eight hundred people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Dissidents and protesters are focus, notably in the wake of the 2022 protests. Experts say the government have used the executions to stifle opposition, instil apprehension among the population and reinforce their control on authority.