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More than two dozen Olympic medallists, mentors and other global sports figures have endorsed a letter demanding a halt to the death penalty of a champion boxer and instructor, who is facing execution in the country.

Growing Worldwide Condemnation

Amid growing international outrage over Iran’s escalating use of the death penalty as a instrument of repression, the strongly worded appeal denounces the authorities's ruling to confirm the death sentence of the boxing champion.

The boxer, three decades old, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was detained for participating in countrywide demonstrations in two thousand nineteen and charged of supporting an opposition group. He has passed five years in incarceration, where he has been tortured and kept in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is intended to inspire optimism, unity, and courage,” the signatories wrote. “The death penalty of a champion for his opinions is a clear violation on these principles and a caution to all sportspeople who attempts to express dissent.

Pattern of Killing Athletes

The letter noted that the boxer's case was not an isolated one and emphasized the nation's history of putting to death competitors for their beliefs, for example a national team leader, captain of the national football team, and a women's sports leader, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, a wrestling champion, a young national sports titleholder, was also executed.

Other endorsers to the statement include a sailing champion, who skippered the inaugural all-female crew in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to earn a renowned nautical honor; the ex- captain of the national squad Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the national team for the global tournament.

Arrest and Unfair Trial

Vafaei Sani was detained in the spring of 2020. The charges against him included “promoting decay on Earth through arson and destruction of state assets”. His verdict has been reversed twice but on 4 October it was maintained on the third attempt. His legal proceedings was condemned as “highly unjust” by human rights activists and bodies.

Appeal to International Body

The appeal to stop the athlete's capital punishment comes after a earlier statement to the global human rights chief for rights, signed by more than 100 advocates and organizations, demanding measures to prevent the athlete’s capital punishment.

Execution Crisis

Based on reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has reached shocking proportions”. In two thousand twenty-three, officials put to death at least 853 people – a nearly half rise on the previous year. The year before, records showed nearly a thousand executions, marking the maximum count since the year 2015. In excess of hundreds of people have been executed so far in the current year.

Dissidents and protesters are targets, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 protests. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have used the capital punishment to stifle protest, create anxiety among the public and tighten their grip on rule.