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In excess of twenty Olympic medal winners, mentors and additional international athletes have endorsed a appeal calling for a end to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and coach, who is facing execution in the nation.

Increasing International Outrage

Amidst rising worldwide anger over Iran’s expanding employment of the death penalty as a tool of oppression, the forcefully phrased appeal condemns the Iranian regime's ruling to confirm the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The athlete, 30, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was arrested for taking part in national uprisings in the year 2019 and indicted of aiding an resistance movement. He has passed five years in prison, where he has been abused and confined in isolation.

“Sport is meant to promote faith, solidarity, and courage,” the supporters wrote. “The execution of a winner for his opinions is a direct assault on these principles and a warning to every athlete who dares to express dissent.

Pattern of Executing Athletes

The statement said that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was part of a pattern and highlighted the country's history of putting to death sports champions for their beliefs, for example Habib Khabiri, leader of the football side, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old Iranian competitor, was also executed.

Further supporters to the letter consist of Tracy Edwards, who skippered the pioneering all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to earn a prestigious sailing award; the previous skipper of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the global tournament.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was arrested in March 2020. The charges against him entailed “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and damage of public property”. His ruling has been overturned twice but on the fourth of October it was upheld on the third occasion. His court case was criticized as “grossly unfair” by rights defenders and bodies.

Call to International Body

The call to stop the boxer's execution follows a earlier letter to the United Nations official for human rights, endorsed by over one hundred human rights experts and organizations, demanding intervention to prevent the sports figure's execution.

Death Penalty Surge

According to findings, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has attained horrific dimensions”. In 2023, the government executed at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent surge on 2022. The year before, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two executions, representing the peak figure since 2015. More than hundreds of people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and opponents are targets, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 demonstrations. Analysts say the regime have used the executions to stifle protest, create anxiety among the citizenry and strengthen their grip on rule.