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Over two dozen Olympic champions, coaches and further global sports figures have signed a letter urging a stop to the death penalty of a champion boxer and coach, who is on death row in the country.

Escalating Global Anger

Amidst growing worldwide anger over Iran’s increasing application of capital punishment as a means of repression, the forcefully phrased letter denounces the Iranian regime's verdict to uphold the execution order of the athlete.

The athlete, thirty, from the city in north-east Iran, was taken into custody for being involved in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and indicted of supporting an resistance movement. He has passed 60 months in prison, where he has been tortured and held in solitary confinement.

“Competition is intended to promote optimism, solidarity, and courage,” the supporters stated. “The execution of a winner for his beliefs is a direct assault on these ideals and a warning to all sportspeople who ventures to express dissent.

Record of Executing Competitors

The statement noted that the athlete's circumstances was not unique and highlighted the country's past of executing athletes for their views, such as Habib Khabiri, captain of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the female volleyball side. In two thousand twenty, Navid Afkari, a 27-year Iranian wrestling champion, was also executed.

Other signatories to the appeal include a yachting pioneer, who skippered the pioneering female-only team in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to receive a esteemed sailing award; the former leader of the Australian football team a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the global tournament.

Apprehension and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was detained in the spring of 2020. The allegations against him entailed “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and destruction of state assets”. His sentence has been overturned on two occasions 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.

Urging to UN

The urging to stop Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment comes after a 2023 appeal to the UN high commissioner for human rights, backed by more than 100 rights specialists and entities, urging intervention to avert the competitor's death.

Execution Crisis

According to data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has achieved horrific levels”. In two thousand twenty-three, authorities sentenced at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a nearly half surge on the previous year. The year before, data showed nine hundred seventy-two executions, marking the peak figure since the year 2015. More than eight hundred people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Dissidents and dissidents are victims, especially in the aftermath of the 2022's uprising. Experts say the Iranian authorities have employed the executions to suppress protest, instil anxiety among the population and tighten their control on power.