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More than 20 Olympic medallists, coaches and additional global sports figures have put their names to a letter calling for a stop to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and coach, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

During growing international outrage over the country's escalating use of the death penalty as a means of repression, the strongly worded appeal censures the government's decision to maintain the execution order of the athlete.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from the city in the northeastern region, was arrested for being involved in countrywide demonstrations in the year 2019 and charged of aiding an opposition group. He has endured half a decade in detention, where he has been mistreated and confined in isolation.

“Sport is meant to promote hope, solidarity, and fortitude,” the endorsers wrote. “The capital punishment of a champion for his beliefs is a blatant attack on these ideals and a admonition to every athlete who dares to voice opinions.

History of Executing Athletes

The statement pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s case was part of a pattern and underscored the country's history of executing sports champions for their beliefs, including Habib Khabiri, captain of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, skipper of the female volleyball side. In the year 2020, an athlete, a young Iranian wrestling champion, was also executed.

Other signatories to the statement include Tracy Edwards, who captained the first women's squad in a global yacht race and was the initial female to be awarded a renowned nautical honor; the former skipper of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was taken into custody in early 2020. The accusations against him included “promoting decay on Earth through incendiarism and destruction of government belongings”. His sentence has been annulled on two occasions but on the fourth of October it was confirmed on the latest review. His court case was condemned as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and groups.

Appeal to International Body

The appeal to halt the athlete's death sentence is subsequent to a 2023 appeal to the United Nations official for rights, backed by more than 100 human rights experts and entities, urging intervention to prevent the athlete’s capital punishment.

Execution Crisis

Based on findings, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has achieved horrific dimensions”. In two thousand twenty-three, the government executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a forty-eight percent increase on 2022. Last year, records showed nine hundred seventy-two capital punishments, marking the maximum count since two thousand fifteen. Over hundreds of people have been executed so far in 2025.

Dissidents and protesters are victims, notably in the wake of the 2022 demonstrations. Experts say the Iranian authorities have used the executions to quell dissent, generate apprehension among the population and strengthen their hold on power.