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Over two dozen Olympic medallists, coaches and additional global sports figures have put their names to a appeal urging a end to the death penalty of a champion boxer and trainer, who is facing execution in Iran.

Growing Worldwide Condemnation

Amid increasing international outrage over the nation's expanding employment of the death penalty as a instrument of repression, the powerfully expressed statement censures the government's verdict to uphold the execution order of the athlete.

The athlete, thirty, from the city in the northern province, was arrested for taking part in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and charged of supporting an opposition group. He has spent half a decade in prison, where he has been tortured and kept in solitary confinement.

“Competition is designed to promote hope, togetherness, and bravery,” the supporters stated. “The death penalty of a winner for his political views is a clear violation on these ideals and a caution to every athlete who dares to express dissent.

History of Executing Competitors

The appeal noted that the boxer's case was not unique and highlighted the nation's past of executing sports champions for their beliefs, such as a football captain, captain of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, captain of the female volleyball side. In two thousand twenty, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, was put to death.

Additional supporters to the letter comprise Tracy Edwards, who led the first women's squad in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to earn a prestigious sailing award; the ex- captain of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Apprehension and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was arrested in March 2020. The accusations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and damage of public property”. His ruling has been reversed multiple times but on the fourth of October it was confirmed on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was denounced as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and bodies.

Appeal to United Nations

The urging to halt Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment follows a 2023 statement to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, backed by more than a hundred human rights experts and entities, calling for action to prevent the competitor's execution.

Capital Punishment Escalation

Based on findings, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has attained alarming dimensions”. In the year 2023, officials sentenced at least 853 people – a nearly half rise on 2022. Last year, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two deaths, constituting the highest number since two thousand fifteen. Over hundreds of people have been executed so far in 2025.

Dissidents and protesters are targets, particularly in the wake of the the year 2022 protests. Experts say the regime have employed the death penalty to suppress dissent, instil apprehension among the population and reinforce their control on authority.