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Over two dozen Olympic medallists, coaches and further world-class competitors have endorsed a letter urging a halt to the death penalty of a boxing champion and trainer, who is facing execution in the country.

Increasing Worldwide Condemnation

Amidst increasing worldwide anger over the country's increasing application of executions as a instrument of repression, the forcefully phrased statement denounces the government's decision to confirm the capital punishment of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The athlete, thirty, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was taken into custody for participating in countrywide demonstrations in the year 2019 and charged of aiding an resistance movement. He has passed 60 months in detention, where he has been mistreated and held in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is meant to inspire faith, unity, and bravery,” the endorsers expressed. “The execution of a titleholder for his political views is a blatant attack on these ideals and a caution to every athlete who dares to express dissent.

Record of Killing Competitors

The appeal said that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was part of a pattern and emphasized Iran’s record of putting to death sports champions for their views, such as Habib Khabiri, captain of the national football team, and Fourouzan Abdi, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, an athlete, a young Iranian wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Additional signatories to the appeal include a sailing champion, who led the inaugural all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the pioneering lady to earn a renowned sailing award; the previous skipper of the soccer side an athlete; and a footballer, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

The athlete was arrested in early 2020. The charges against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through incendiarism and damage of government belongings”. His sentence has been reversed multiple times but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the latest review. His trial was denounced as “grossly unfair” by rights defenders and organizations.

Call to UN

The appeal to stop the boxer's capital punishment comes after a 2023 letter to the UN high commissioner for rights, endorsed by more than 100 rights specialists and organizations, calling for intervention to stop the competitor's capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to data, there is an “execution crisis in the nation, which has reached horrific levels”. In the year 2023, authorities sentenced at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent increase on 2022. The year before, data showed 972 capital punishments, constituting the peak figure since the year 2015. More than hundreds of people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Dissidents and dissidents are focus, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 uprising. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have used the executions to quell opposition, create anxiety among the population and tighten their control on authority.