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More than two dozen Olympic medal winners, coaches and other global sports figures have put their names to a appeal demanding a end to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and coach, who is facing execution in the nation.

Escalating Global Anger

During rising worldwide anger over Iran’s expanding employment of capital punishment as a tool of repression, the forcefully phrased letter censures the Iranian regime's decision to maintain the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for being involved in nationwide protests in 2019 and accused of aiding an opposition group. He has passed five years in prison, where he has been mistreated and held in solitary confinement.

“Competition is intended to encourage optimism, unity, and courage,” the supporters wrote. “The capital punishment of a champion for his beliefs is a clear violation on these values and a caution to every athlete who dares to express dissent.

Pattern of Killing Sports Figures

The letter said that the boxer's situation was part of a pattern and underscored the nation's record of executing sports champions for their views, for example Habib Khabiri, leader of the football side, and a volleyball captain, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, an athlete, a young national wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Additional endorsers to the appeal comprise Tracy Edwards, who skippered the inaugural female-only team in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to receive a renowned yachting trophy; the previous skipper of the soccer side a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the Iranian squad for the global tournament.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was detained in March 2020. The accusations against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and damage of government belongings”. His verdict has been overturned twice but on 4 October it was confirmed on the third occasion. His trial was denounced as “highly unjust” by advocates and organizations.

Call to United Nations

The appeal to prevent the athlete's execution is subsequent to a previous letter to the UN high commissioner for human rights, signed by in excess of a hundred human rights experts and organizations, urging intervention to stop the competitor's capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

As per data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has attained alarming levels”. In two thousand twenty-three, authorities sentenced at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a 48% surge on the previous year. In the prior period, statistics showed nearly a thousand executions, representing the maximum count since the year 2015. More than eight hundred people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Dissidents and dissidents are targets, notably in the aftermath of the the year 2022 uprising. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have employed the death penalty to suppress opposition, create fear among the citizenry and strengthen their grip on authority.