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Over 20 Olympic medal winners, trainers and additional international athletes have endorsed a appeal calling for a halt to the death penalty of a boxing champion and coach, who is on death row in Iran.

Escalating International Outrage

Amid increasing global condemnation over the nation's expanding employment of capital punishment as a tool of oppression, the forcefully phrased appeal censures the government's verdict to maintain the capital punishment of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The boxer, 30, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for being involved in nationwide protests in the year 2019 and indicted of aiding an dissident organization. He has spent 60 months in incarceration, where he has been mistreated and held in seclusion.

“Sport is intended to promote hope, unity, and courage,” the endorsers wrote. “The execution of a champion for his beliefs is a direct assault on these principles and a admonition to every athlete who attempts to express dissent.

Record of Killing Sports Figures

The letter noted that the athlete's case was part of a pattern and emphasized the nation's past of putting to death competitors for their beliefs, including a national team leader, captain of the national football team, and Fourouzan Abdi, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old Iranian sports titleholder, was put to death.

Additional signatories to the statement include a yachting pioneer, who led the inaugural all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the initial female to receive a esteemed nautical honor; the ex- captain of the national squad a sports advocate; and a footballer, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Detention and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was taken into custody in March 2020. The allegations against him entailed “spreading corruption on Earth through incendiarism and damage of state assets”. His verdict has been overturned twice but on the fourth of October it was confirmed on the latest review. His court case was denounced as “highly unjust” by advocates and organizations.

Appeal to United Nations

The urging to stop the boxer's execution follows a 2023 statement to the global human rights chief for rights, backed by more than a hundred advocates and entities, urging action to stop the sports figure's capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

Based on data, there is an “execution crisis in the nation, which has achieved horrific dimensions”. In 2023, authorities put to death at least over 850 people – a nearly half increase on 2022. Last year, records showed nine hundred seventy-two capital punishments, representing the highest number since 2015. Over eight hundred people have been executed so far in 2025.

Dissidents and dissidents are focus, especially in the wake of the 2022 uprising. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have used the capital punishment to quell protest, generate anxiety among the citizenry and strengthen their grip on rule.