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In excess of 20 Olympic medal winners, trainers and other global sports figures have put their names to a letter calling for a halt to the capital punishment of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

Amidst growing worldwide anger over Iran’s escalating use 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 the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from the city in the northern province, was detained for taking part in countrywide demonstrations in the year 2019 and indicted of backing an resistance movement. He has endured half a decade in detention, where he has been abused and confined in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is intended to encourage optimism, solidarity, and courage,” the supporters stated. “The execution of a champion for his beliefs is a clear violation on these values and a warning to every athlete who attempts to express dissent.

History of Killing Sports Figures

The letter said that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not an isolated one and underscored Iran’s past of putting to death athletes for their convictions, for example a national team leader, captain of the football side, and a women's sports leader, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In the year 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old Iranian competitor, was also executed.

Further signatories to the appeal consist of a sailing champion, who captained the first all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to be awarded a prestigious nautical honor; the previous skipper of the soccer side a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the Iranian squad for the 1978 World Cup.

Detention and Unjust Proceedings

The athlete was arrested in March 2020. The accusations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through arson and damage of government belongings”. His ruling has been annulled multiple times but on 4 October it was confirmed on the latest review. His court case was criticized as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and organizations.

Urging to UN

The call to prevent the boxer's execution comes after a earlier appeal to the UN high commissioner for human rights, signed by more than one hundred rights specialists and groups, calling for measures to avert the athlete’s death.

Death Penalty Surge

Based on reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has attained shocking proportions”. In the year 2023, authorities executed at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent rise on 2022. Last year, records showed nine hundred seventy-two executions, representing the highest number since 2015. In excess of eight hundred people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Dissidents and dissidents are focus, particularly in the wake of the the year 2022 uprising. Specialists say the regime have used the death penalty to quell dissent, instil apprehension among the public and tighten their control on rule.