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In excess of 20 Olympic champions, coaches and other global sports figures have put their names to a letter demanding a halt to the death penalty of a boxing champion and instructor, who is facing execution in the nation.

Growing Global Anger

Amidst growing worldwide anger over the country's expanding employment of executions as a tool of suppression, the forcefully phrased letter condemns the Iranian regime's decision to maintain the death sentence of the athlete.

The boxer, thirty, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was detained for taking part in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and indicted of aiding an resistance movement. He has passed 60 months in prison, where he has been tortured and held in seclusion.

“Sport is designed to encourage faith, togetherness, and courage,” the endorsers wrote. “The death penalty of a winner for his political views is a direct assault on these ideals and a admonition to any competitor who attempts to speak out.

Record of Executing Competitors

The letter pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not unique and highlighted Iran’s past of executing competitors for their convictions, including a national team leader, skipper of the football side, and Fourouzan Abdi, skipper of the female volleyball side. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old national competitor, was also executed.

Further signatories to the appeal comprise a yachting pioneer, who led the pioneering all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to be awarded a renowned sailing award; the former leader of the Australian football team a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the global tournament.

Detention and Unfair Trial

The athlete was detained in March 2020. The allegations against him comprised “promoting decay on Earth through incendiarism and ruin of public property”. His sentence has been annulled multiple times but on October 4 it was upheld on the third occasion. His trial was criticized as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and organizations.

Urging to International Body

The appeal to stop the boxer's execution comes after a 2023 letter to the global human rights chief for freedoms, backed by in excess of a hundred advocates and groups, demanding action to prevent the sports figure's capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

As per reports, there is an “death penalty surge in the country, which has attained alarming levels”. In 2023, officials executed at least 853 people – a 48% surge on 2022. In the prior period, statistics showed nearly a thousand deaths, marking the highest number since two thousand fifteen. In excess of eight hundred people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Dissidents and dissidents are targets, especially in the aftermath of the the year 2022 protests. Specialists say the government have employed the death penalty to stifle dissent, instil apprehension among the population and reinforce their grip on rule.