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In excess of two dozen Olympic medal winners, mentors and further global sports figures have signed a letter urging a halt to the capital punishment of a champion boxer and trainer, who is facing execution in the country.

Escalating International Outrage

Amidst growing global condemnation over the country's escalating use of executions as a instrument of suppression, the strongly worded statement censures the government's decision to uphold the capital punishment of the athlete.

The boxer, 30, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was taken into custody for participating in national uprisings in the year 2019 and indicted of backing an opposition group. He has spent 60 months in detention, where he has been tortured and confined in seclusion.

“Competition is meant to encourage faith, solidarity, and fortitude,” the endorsers expressed. “The death penalty of a titleholder for his beliefs is a clear violation on these values and a admonition to any competitor who attempts to voice opinions.

Record of Putting to Death Athletes

The statement noted that Vafaei Sani’s situation was part of a pattern and underscored the country's record of putting to death athletes for their beliefs, for example a football captain, skipper of the national football team, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old Iranian competitor, was also executed.

Further endorsers to the letter comprise Tracy Edwards, who captained the inaugural women's squad in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to receive a esteemed nautical honor; the ex- leader of the national squad a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Detention and Unfair Trial

The boxer was taken into custody in March 2020. The charges against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through arson and ruin of government belongings”. His ruling has been reversed twice but on 4 October it was upheld on the third attempt. His legal proceedings was denounced as “grossly unfair” by rights defenders and organizations.

Appeal to UN

The call to halt Vafaei Sani’s execution comes after a previous statement to the UN high commissioner for human rights, backed by more than one hundred advocates and groups, urging action to stop the sports figure's capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to findings, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has achieved horrific dimensions”. In two thousand twenty-three, the government put to death at least 853 people – a nearly half increase on the previous year. The year before, records showed nine hundred seventy-two deaths, marking the peak figure since 2015. More than 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Dissidents and protesters are focus, notably in the wake of the 2022 demonstrations. Specialists say the government have employed the capital punishment to suppress protest, create apprehension among the population and strengthen their grip on authority.