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More than twenty Olympic champions, coaches and other global sports figures have signed a letter urging a end to the capital punishment of a champion boxer and coach, who is sentenced to die in Iran.

Escalating Global Anger

Amid increasing international outrage over the country's escalating use of capital punishment as a instrument of oppression, the powerfully expressed statement denounces the government's decision to maintain the capital punishment of the athlete.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for participating in national uprisings in 2019 and accused of aiding an resistance movement. He has spent five years in detention, where he has been abused and confined in solitary confinement.

“Sport is meant to promote optimism, solidarity, and courage,” the supporters stated. “The execution of a champion for his beliefs is a direct assault on these ideals and a caution to every athlete who dares to voice opinions.

Record of Killing Athletes

The statement said that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was not an isolated one and highlighted Iran’s history of executing competitors for their beliefs, including a national team leader, captain of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In two thousand twenty, Navid Afkari, a young national sports titleholder, was put to death.

Other signatories to the letter comprise a yachting pioneer, who captained the pioneering women's squad in a global yacht race and was the first woman to be awarded a prestigious sailing award; the previous leader of the national squad a sports advocate; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the global tournament.

Detention and Unfair Trial

Vafaei Sani was arrested in March 2020. The accusations against him entailed “promoting decay on Earth through incendiarism and destruction of state assets”. His verdict has been reversed on two occasions but on 4 October it was maintained on the latest review. His court case was condemned as “grossly unfair” by rights defenders and organizations.

Appeal to United Nations

The call to prevent the athlete's death sentence is subsequent to a previous statement to the global human rights chief for human rights, signed by over 100 rights specialists and groups, calling for action to avert the sports figure's execution.

Execution Crisis

Based on findings, there is an “execution crisis in the nation, which has attained alarming levels”. In the year 2023, officials sentenced at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a 48% rise on 2022. The year before, data showed nine hundred seventy-two executions, constituting the peak figure since the year 2015. More than hundreds of people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and protesters are targets, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 protests. Analysts say the government have used the capital punishment to stifle opposition, instil fear among the citizenry and tighten their hold on authority.