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Over 20 Olympic champions, trainers and further global sports figures have endorsed a appeal calling for a stop to the execution of a boxing champion and instructor, who is on death row in Iran.

Escalating International Outrage

Amid increasing international outrage over the nation's expanding employment of the death penalty as a means of suppression, the forcefully phrased statement denounces the authorities's verdict to confirm the death sentence of the boxing champion.

The athlete, three decades old, from the city in north-east Iran, was taken into custody for taking part in nationwide protests in 2019 and indicted of supporting an resistance movement. He has passed five years in prison, where he has been abused and confined in seclusion.

“Competition is intended to encourage optimism, unity, and bravery,” the supporters stated. “The capital punishment of a champion for his beliefs is a clear violation on these values and a warning to any competitor who dares to speak out.

Pattern of Executing Athletes

The statement said that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was not an isolated one and underscored Iran’s past of executing competitors for their convictions, including Habib Khabiri, captain of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the female volleyball side. In 2020, an athlete, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, was also executed.

Further supporters to the letter consist of Tracy Edwards, who skippered the inaugural female-only team in a global yacht race and was the pioneering lady to be awarded a renowned yachting trophy; the previous captain of the soccer side a sports advocate; and a sports figure, who was in the national team for the international competition.

Arrest and Unfair Trial

Vafaei Sani was detained in early 2020. The charges against him included “promoting decay on Earth through fire-setting and destruction of government belongings”. His ruling has been reversed twice but on October 4 it was confirmed on the third occasion. His court case was condemned as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and groups.

Urging to United Nations

The urging to prevent the boxer's death sentence is subsequent to a earlier appeal to the global human rights chief for rights, endorsed by in excess of one hundred rights specialists and organizations, urging intervention to avert the athlete’s death.

Capital Punishment Escalation

Based on reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has attained shocking dimensions”. In the year 2023, officials sentenced at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent surge on 2022. In the prior period, data showed nine hundred seventy-two deaths, constituting the peak figure since 2015. Over eight hundred people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and dissidents are targets, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 uprising. Experts say the regime have employed the executions to quell protest, create fear among the public and tighten their control on rule.