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Over twenty Olympic medallists, trainers and other world-class competitors have endorsed a appeal urging a halt to the capital punishment of a champion boxer and trainer, who is on death row in the country.

Escalating Global Anger

During growing international outrage over Iran’s increasing application of capital punishment as a means of repression, the powerfully expressed appeal denounces the Iranian regime's verdict to maintain the capital punishment of the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from the city in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for taking part in nationwide protests in the year 2019 and indicted of aiding an opposition group. He has spent 60 months in detention, where he has been mistreated and confined in isolation.

“Competition is meant to encourage optimism, unity, and fortitude,” the endorsers wrote. “The death penalty of a winner for his beliefs is a direct assault on these ideals and a warning to all sportspeople who ventures to voice opinions.

History of Executing Sports Figures

The letter noted that the boxer's situation was not an isolated one and emphasized the country's history of putting to death competitors for their convictions, for example a football captain, skipper of the football side, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old Iranian sports titleholder, was also executed.

Other signatories to the statement include a yachting pioneer, who skippered the first women's squad in a international sailing event and was the initial female to earn a prestigious sailing award; the ex- skipper of the national squad a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Detention and Unjust Proceedings

Vafaei Sani was arrested in early 2020. The accusations against him entailed “promoting decay on Earth through fire-setting and destruction of state assets”. His sentence has been reversed twice but on the fourth of October it was confirmed on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was denounced as “deeply biased” by advocates and bodies.

Call to International Body

The call to halt the boxer's capital punishment comes after a previous appeal to the UN high commissioner for rights, backed by in excess of 100 advocates and groups, calling for measures to stop the sports figure's capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has reached shocking proportions”. In 2023, the government put to death at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a forty-eight percent rise on the previous year. The year before, records showed nearly a thousand deaths, marking the highest number since the year 2015. In excess of eight hundred people have been executed so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and dissidents are targets, notably in the aftermath of the 2022's demonstrations. Specialists say the government have employed the death penalty to quell opposition, generate fear among the population and reinforce their grip on authority.