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In excess of 20 Olympic medal winners, coaches and other international athletes have put their names to a appeal calling for a stop to the capital punishment of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is sentenced to die in Iran.

Growing Worldwide Condemnation

Amid increasing global condemnation over the country's escalating use of the death penalty as a means of repression, the powerfully expressed appeal censures the authorities's decision to uphold the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The boxer, 30, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was detained for taking part in nationwide protests in the year 2019 and indicted of supporting an opposition group. He has spent half a decade in incarceration, where he has been tortured and held in seclusion.

“Sport is designed to inspire faith, unity, and bravery,” the supporters wrote. “The death penalty of a champion for his opinions is a blatant attack on these ideals and a admonition to any competitor who dares to speak out.

Record of Killing Athletes

The statement noted that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was not an isolated one and highlighted the nation's record of sentencing to death athletes for their beliefs, such as Habib Khabiri, captain of the football side, and a volleyball captain, captain of the female volleyball side. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a young national competitor, was put to death.

Further signatories to the appeal comprise a yachting pioneer, who captained the pioneering female-only team in a global yacht race and was the initial female to receive a prestigious sailing award; the former leader of the national squad an athlete; and a sports figure, who was in the national team for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

The athlete was taken into custody in early 2020. The allegations against him comprised “spreading corruption on Earth through arson and destruction of public property”. His verdict has been annulled on two occasions but on 4 October it was maintained on the latest review. His trial was criticized as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and groups.

Urging to United Nations

The urging to prevent the boxer's capital punishment comes after a previous statement to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, endorsed by in excess of 100 human rights experts and organizations, urging intervention to avert the sports figure's death.

Death Penalty Surge

As per data, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has reached horrific dimensions”. In the year 2023, officials sentenced at least over 850 people – a 48% increase on 2022. In the prior period, data showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, representing the maximum count since 2015. In excess of 800 people have been put to death so far in the current year.

Political prisoners and protesters are victims, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 uprising. Experts say the government have employed the executions to suppress dissent, generate apprehension among the population and tighten their grip on rule.