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In excess of 20 Olympic medal winners, coaches and other international athletes have signed a letter demanding a end to the capital punishment of a boxing titleholder and coach, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Growing Worldwide Condemnation

Amid increasing international outrage over Iran’s expanding employment of the death penalty as a instrument of oppression, the strongly worded appeal denounces the Iranian regime's ruling to confirm the death sentence of the boxing champion.

The boxer, thirty, from the city in the northern province, was taken into custody for taking part in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and indicted of backing an resistance movement. He has passed half a decade in detention, where he has been tortured and kept in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is intended to inspire optimism, solidarity, and courage,” the endorsers stated. “The execution of a titleholder for his beliefs is a direct assault on these principles and a caution to all sportspeople who ventures to voice opinions.

Pattern of Killing Competitors

The statement pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not unique and highlighted the nation's past of executing competitors for their views, for example a football captain, leader of the soccer squad, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old Iranian competitor, 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 former captain of the Australian football team a sports advocate; and a sports figure, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Arrest and Unfair Trial

The athlete was arrested in the spring of 2020. The charges against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and destruction of state assets”. His ruling has been overturned multiple times but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the third occasion. His court case was denounced as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and groups.

Call to United Nations

The appeal to prevent the boxer's execution is subsequent to a 2023 statement to the United Nations official for freedoms, endorsed by over a hundred rights specialists and entities, urging intervention to stop the sports figure's capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

As per findings, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has achieved shocking proportions”. In 2023, authorities executed at least 853 people – a 48% rise on 2022. Last year, data showed nine hundred seventy-two executions, constituting the peak figure since two thousand fifteen. In excess of 800 people have been executed so far in 2025.

Dissidents and opponents are victims, especially in the aftermath of the the year 2022 protests. Experts say the Iranian authorities have employed the death penalty to quell protest, create anxiety among the public and strengthen their grip on power.