🔗 Share this article

More than 20 Olympic medal winners, trainers and further international athletes have signed a appeal demanding a halt to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and coach, who is on death row in the country.

Increasing Global Anger

During increasing worldwide anger over Iran’s escalating use of the death penalty as a tool of suppression, the powerfully expressed letter denounces the authorities's decision to maintain the execution order of the boxing champion.

The athlete, thirty, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for taking part in nationwide protests in the year 2019 and indicted of aiding an dissident organization. He has endured half a decade in prison, where he has been tortured and confined in seclusion.

“Athletics is intended to promote faith, solidarity, and courage,” the endorsers wrote. “The capital punishment of a titleholder for his opinions is a clear violation on these ideals and a caution to every athlete who ventures to speak out.

History of Putting to Death Athletes

The appeal said that Vafaei Sani’s case was not an isolated one and emphasized Iran’s past of putting to death competitors for their convictions, for example a national team leader, captain of the football side, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, a wrestling champion, a young Iranian competitor, faced the death penalty.

Other signatories to the statement include Tracy Edwards, who skippered the pioneering women's squad in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to be awarded a prestigious yachting trophy; the previous skipper of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Detention and Flawed Legal Process

The athlete was taken into custody in early 2020. The allegations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and damage of government belongings”. His verdict has been annulled on two occasions but on 4 October it was upheld on the latest review. His court case was denounced as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and organizations.

Appeal to International Body

The appeal to prevent Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment follows a earlier letter to the United Nations official for rights, endorsed by more than 100 advocates and organizations, demanding action to avert the sports figure's capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

As per data, there is an “execution crisis in the country, which has achieved shocking levels”. In two thousand twenty-three, officials executed at least over 850 people – a nearly half surge on the previous year. The year before, data showed nearly a thousand executions, marking the maximum count since 2015. More than 800 people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Dissidents and protesters are victims, especially in the wake of the the year 2022 uprising. Experts say the Iranian authorities have used the death penalty to stifle protest, create fear among the citizenry and strengthen their grip on power.