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In excess of 20 Olympic medal winners, mentors and additional global sports figures have put their names to a statement urging a stop to the capital punishment of a boxing champion and trainer, who is on death row in the country.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

Amidst growing global condemnation over the country's expanding employment of capital punishment as a means of repression, the strongly worded statement condemns the Iranian regime's ruling to maintain the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from the city in the northeastern region, was arrested for taking part in national uprisings in the year 2019 and indicted of backing an opposition group. He has passed half a decade in incarceration, where he has been tortured and confined in seclusion.

“Athletics is intended to promote hope, unity, and courage,” the supporters wrote. “The death penalty of a champion for his beliefs is a blatant attack on these principles and a warning to every athlete who attempts to speak out.

History of Putting to Death Sports Figures

The letter said that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not an isolated one and underscored the country's history of executing competitors for their views, such as Habib Khabiri, captain of the football side, and a volleyball captain, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a young Iranian wrestling champion, was put to death.

Further endorsers to the letter include a yachting pioneer, who captained the inaugural all-female crew in a international sailing event and was the first woman to be awarded a prestigious yachting trophy; the former captain of the soccer side a sports advocate; and a sports figure, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was arrested in March 2020. The accusations against him entailed “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and destruction of public property”. His sentence has been annulled on two occasions but on October 4 it was maintained on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was condemned as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and organizations.

Urging to United Nations

The appeal to stop Vafaei Sani’s death sentence is subsequent to a earlier letter to the United Nations official for freedoms, signed by over a hundred human rights experts and organizations, demanding intervention to prevent the competitor's execution.

Capital Punishment Escalation

As per data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has achieved alarming dimensions”. In 2023, authorities executed at least over 850 people – a nearly half rise on the previous year. The year before, statistics showed 972 capital punishments, marking the peak figure since 2015. Over 800 people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and opponents are focus, notably in the aftermath of the 2022's uprising. Experts say the government have utilized the executions to quell protest, instil anxiety among the population and reinforce their grip on authority.