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More than twenty Olympic medal winners, coaches and additional global sports figures have put their names to a letter urging a halt to the death penalty of a champion boxer and instructor, who is facing execution in the country.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

During increasing international outrage over the country's increasing application of executions as a tool of oppression, the strongly worded letter censures the government's ruling to confirm the execution order of the athlete.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for being involved in countrywide demonstrations in 2019 and charged of backing an opposition group. He has endured five years in incarceration, where he has been tortured and kept in seclusion.

“Sport is intended to promote hope, solidarity, and courage,” the signatories wrote. “The death penalty of a champion for his opinions is a direct assault on these principles and a caution to all sportspeople who attempts to speak out.

History of Putting to Death Competitors

The appeal pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was not unique and highlighted the country's history of putting to death competitors for their convictions, including a football captain, leader of the national football team, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the female volleyball side. In 2020, an athlete, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, was put to death.

Additional signatories to the letter comprise a sailing champion, who skippered the inaugural all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to earn a esteemed sailing award; the ex- skipper of the national squad Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the global tournament.

Arrest and Unjust Proceedings

Vafaei Sani was detained in early 2020. The allegations against him comprised “promoting decay on Earth through fire-setting and damage of public property”. His ruling has been reversed twice but on October 4 it was confirmed on the third attempt. His trial was condemned as “grossly unfair” by advocates and groups.

Urging to International Body

The urging to stop the boxer's capital punishment follows a previous statement to the United Nations official for freedoms, signed by in excess of one hundred advocates and entities, calling for action to prevent the athlete’s death.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to data, there is an “death penalty surge in the country, which has achieved alarming levels”. In the year 2023, authorities executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a 48% rise on 2022. In the prior period, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two deaths, constituting the peak figure since two thousand fifteen. Over hundreds of people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and opponents are targets, notably in the wake of the 2022 uprising. Specialists say the government have employed the death penalty to suppress protest, create anxiety among the citizenry and reinforce their grip on rule.