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In excess of 20 Olympic medal winners, mentors and further global sports figures have put their names to a appeal urging a end to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is on death row in Iran.

Escalating Global Anger

Amidst growing global condemnation over Iran’s expanding employment of capital punishment as a tool of suppression, the forcefully phrased appeal condemns the Iranian regime's verdict to confirm the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

Vafaei Sani, 30, from the city in north-east Iran, was arrested for being involved in countrywide demonstrations in two thousand nineteen and charged of backing an opposition group. He has passed five years in prison, where he has been tortured and confined in seclusion.

“Competition is designed to inspire optimism, togetherness, and fortitude,” the endorsers expressed. “The capital punishment of a titleholder for his political views is a clear violation on these principles and a admonition to every athlete who ventures to speak out.

History of Executing Athletes

The statement noted that the boxer's circumstances was part of a pattern and emphasized the nation's past of executing competitors for their views, including a national team leader, skipper of the football side, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the female volleyball side. In two thousand twenty, an athlete, a young Iranian wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Additional signatories to the letter consist of a yachting pioneer, who captained the inaugural all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the initial female to receive a prestigious sailing award; the previous captain of the national squad Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the global tournament.

Detention and Unjust Proceedings

The athlete was detained in the spring of 2020. The accusations against him included “promoting decay on Earth through arson and damage of government belongings”. His ruling has been reversed on two occasions but on 4 October it was upheld on the latest review. His trial was denounced as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and organizations.

Urging to International Body

The appeal to stop Vafaei Sani’s execution comes after a previous appeal to the global human rights chief for freedoms, backed by over 100 advocates and organizations, urging measures to stop the sports figure's execution.

Capital Punishment Escalation

As per reports, there is an “execution crisis in the nation, which has reached horrific dimensions”. In the year 2023, officials put to death at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a nearly half increase on the previous year. The year before, data showed 972 capital punishments, marking the highest number since the year 2015. In excess of 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Dissidents and protesters are targets, especially in the wake of the the year 2022 uprising. Experts say the regime have employed the capital punishment to suppress dissent, instil apprehension among the population and reinforce their control on authority.