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In excess of two dozen Olympic medal winners, trainers and other international athletes have put their names to a letter demanding a stop to the capital punishment of a boxing champion and instructor, who is facing execution in Iran.

Escalating Global Anger

Amidst increasing global condemnation over Iran’s expanding employment of executions as a tool of oppression, the powerfully expressed statement censures the government's verdict to uphold the capital punishment of the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for being involved in nationwide protests in two thousand nineteen and charged of aiding an opposition group. He has passed five years in incarceration, where he has been mistreated and held in seclusion.

“Competition is intended to promote hope, togetherness, and bravery,” the signatories wrote. “The capital punishment of a champion for his beliefs is a blatant attack on these values and a warning to every athlete who ventures to express dissent.

Record of Executing Competitors

The appeal noted that the athlete's circumstances was part of a pattern and emphasized the nation's record of putting to death athletes for their views, including Habib Khabiri, captain of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, an athlete, a young Iranian sports titleholder, faced the death penalty.

Further signatories to the letter consist of Tracy Edwards, who captained the first female-only team in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to be awarded a prestigious yachting trophy; the ex- captain of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Detention and Unfair Trial

The athlete was arrested in March 2020. The allegations against him comprised “spreading corruption on Earth through incendiarism and destruction of public property”. His sentence has been annulled on two occasions but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was criticized as “grossly unfair” by advocates and groups.

Urging to UN

The appeal to stop the boxer's death sentence comes after a previous appeal to the United Nations official for rights, signed by over 100 human rights experts and groups, calling for measures to stop the athlete’s capital punishment.

Execution Crisis

According to findings, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has reached horrific levels”. In the year 2023, officials executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a nearly half surge on the previous year. Last year, data showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, representing the highest number since two thousand fifteen. Over 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Dissidents and protesters are victims, especially in the wake of the the year 2022 demonstrations. Experts say the regime have used the executions to quell dissent, generate fear among the population and strengthen their hold on rule.