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In excess of two dozen Olympic medal winners, trainers and additional world-class competitors have put their names to a appeal demanding a halt to the execution of a boxing champion and trainer, who is on death row in the nation.

Increasing Worldwide Condemnation

Amidst growing global condemnation over the nation's increasing application of executions as a means of oppression, the strongly worded letter denounces the government's verdict to uphold the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The boxer, three decades old, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was arrested for taking part in nationwide protests in 2019 and indicted of backing an resistance movement. He has spent half a decade in prison, where he has been abused and kept in isolation.

“Competition is designed to inspire faith, solidarity, and courage,” the endorsers expressed. “The execution of a winner for his beliefs is a blatant attack on these values and a admonition to all sportspeople who ventures to voice opinions.

Record of Putting to Death Athletes

The letter noted that the boxer's circumstances was part of a pattern and highlighted Iran’s record of executing competitors for their views, such as a football captain, skipper of the football side, and a volleyball captain, leader of the women's volleyball squad. In the year 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old national sports titleholder, was also executed.

Further supporters to the letter include Tracy Edwards, who led the first women's squad in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to earn a renowned nautical honor; the ex- leader of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the global tournament.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was taken into custody in early 2020. The charges against him comprised “promoting decay on Earth through fire-setting and ruin of government belongings”. His verdict has been annulled twice but on the fourth of October it was confirmed on the third attempt. His court case was criticized as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and organizations.

Urging to UN

The urging to halt Vafaei Sani’s execution follows a previous appeal to the global human rights chief for freedoms, backed by over 100 human rights experts and groups, urging intervention to stop the competitor's capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to findings, there is an “execution crisis in the country, which has reached shocking proportions”. In two thousand twenty-three, the government put to death at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent surge on the previous year. The year before, statistics showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, marking the highest number since 2015. Over hundreds of people have been executed so far in 2025.

Dissidents and opponents are victims, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 demonstrations. Experts say the Iranian authorities have employed the death penalty to quell dissent, instil fear among the public and strengthen their control on rule.