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In excess of twenty Olympic champions, mentors and further global sports figures have signed a statement calling for a stop to the execution of a champion boxer and trainer, who is facing execution in the country.

Growing Worldwide Condemnation

During increasing international outrage over the country's escalating use of executions as a tool of suppression, the powerfully expressed letter censures the authorities's ruling to maintain the execution order of the athlete.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from the city in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for being involved in nationwide protests in two thousand nineteen and indicted of backing an dissident organization. He has spent five years in incarceration, where he has been abused and kept in seclusion.

“Athletics is intended to encourage faith, togetherness, and courage,” the signatories expressed. “The capital punishment of a winner for his opinions is a direct assault on these ideals and a warning to any competitor who dares to speak out.

History of Killing Competitors

The appeal pointed out that the boxer's circumstances was not unique and underscored the nation's history of sentencing to death athletes for their beliefs, for example a national team leader, skipper of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a young national competitor, was also executed.

Further endorsers to the statement consist of a yachting pioneer, who led the pioneering women's squad in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to receive a renowned yachting trophy; the ex- leader of the soccer side a sports advocate; and a footballer, who was in the Iranian squad for the global tournament.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

The athlete was taken into custody in March 2020. The accusations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and destruction of state assets”. His sentence has been annulled on two occasions but on 4 October it was maintained on the latest review. His court case was condemned as “grossly unfair” by rights defenders and bodies.

Call to UN

The urging to stop Vafaei Sani’s death sentence follows a 2023 appeal to the United Nations official for human rights, endorsed by more than one hundred advocates and groups, demanding measures to avert the competitor's execution.

Execution Crisis

As per findings, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has reached horrific proportions”. In two thousand twenty-three, officials sentenced at least 853 people – a 48% rise on 2022. Last year, records showed nine hundred seventy-two capital punishments, marking the peak figure since 2015. In excess of 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and protesters are victims, particularly in the aftermath of the the year 2022 demonstrations. Experts say the regime have utilized the executions to quell dissent, create fear among the population and reinforce their control on rule.