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Over two dozen Olympic medal winners, coaches and further international athletes have put their names to a statement calling for a end to the execution of a champion boxer and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Increasing Global Anger

During growing international outrage over the country's increasing application of executions as a tool of oppression, the powerfully expressed appeal condemns the Iranian regime's verdict to uphold the execution order of the athlete.

The boxer, three decades old, from the city in the northern province, was taken into custody for taking part in countrywide demonstrations in 2019 and indicted of backing an dissident organization. He has spent five years in prison, where he has been tortured and confined in solitary confinement.

“Sport is intended to encourage optimism, unity, and fortitude,” the endorsers stated. “The death penalty of a champion for his opinions is a direct assault on these principles and a caution to any competitor who ventures to voice opinions.

History of Killing Sports Figures

The statement said that the boxer's situation was not an isolated one and underscored the nation's past of sentencing to death sports champions for their views, such as Habib Khabiri, captain of the national football team, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the female volleyball side. In 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year Iranian competitor, was put to death.

Further endorsers to the letter comprise Tracy Edwards, who captained the pioneering female-only team in a global yacht race and was the pioneering lady to be awarded a renowned yachting trophy; the ex- skipper of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Detention and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was detained in March 2020. The accusations against him entailed “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and damage of public property”. His sentence has been annulled twice but on October 4 it was upheld on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was condemned as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and groups.

Call to International Body

The call to prevent the athlete's death sentence is subsequent to a 2023 appeal to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, backed by more than 100 human rights experts and entities, calling for measures to prevent the athlete’s capital punishment.

Execution Crisis

According to data, there is an “execution crisis in the country, which has reached shocking proportions”. In 2023, officials put to death at least 853 people – a nearly half rise on 2022. The year before, data showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, marking the peak figure since the year 2015. Over eight hundred people have been executed so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and opponents are victims, particularly in the wake of the 2022's protests. Specialists say the regime have employed the capital punishment to quell protest, generate anxiety among the public and reinforce their grip on authority.