🔗 Share this article

More than 20 Olympic medallists, mentors and other world-class competitors have signed a appeal calling for a halt to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Increasing Worldwide Condemnation

Amidst growing worldwide anger over the country's increasing application of capital punishment as a tool of repression, the powerfully expressed appeal denounces the Iranian regime's ruling to uphold the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The boxer, 30, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for being involved in national uprisings in 2019 and accused of backing an dissident organization. He has endured 60 months in detention, where he has been tortured and held in seclusion.

“Sport is intended to encourage optimism, unity, and fortitude,” the signatories stated. “The death penalty of a champion for his beliefs is a blatant attack on these values and a caution to all sportspeople who attempts to voice opinions.

Record of Executing Sports Figures

The letter noted that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was not an isolated one and underscored Iran’s record of executing competitors for their beliefs, for example a national team leader, leader of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, skipper of the female volleyball side. In the year 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old national sports titleholder, was also executed.

Additional endorsers to the statement consist of a sailing champion, who captained the pioneering all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the initial female to be awarded a prestigious yachting trophy; the previous leader of the national squad Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Apprehension and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was detained in the spring of 2020. The accusations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and damage of government belongings”. His sentence has been reversed multiple times but on October 4 it was upheld on the third attempt. His trial was denounced as “highly unjust” by human rights activists and bodies.

Call to UN

The appeal to halt Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment follows a earlier statement to the United Nations official for freedoms, signed by in excess of one hundred human rights experts and organizations, urging action to stop the athlete’s execution.

Death Penalty Surge

Based on reports, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has attained horrific levels”. In 2023, the government executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a forty-eight percent surge on the previous year. In the prior period, data showed nine hundred seventy-two capital punishments, constituting the highest number since the year 2015. Over 800 people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Dissidents and opponents are targets, particularly in the aftermath of the the year 2022 uprising. Experts say the regime have used the death penalty to quell protest, create anxiety among the population and tighten their grip on authority.