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More than twenty Olympic champions, coaches and other international athletes have endorsed a appeal urging a stop to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and instructor, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Increasing Worldwide Condemnation

Amidst rising worldwide anger over Iran’s expanding employment of executions as a tool of suppression, the powerfully expressed letter denounces the government's verdict to uphold the execution order of the athlete.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from the city in the northern province, was taken into custody for participating in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and charged of supporting an resistance movement. He has endured 60 months in incarceration, where he has been abused and confined in seclusion.

“Sport is intended to inspire optimism, togetherness, and bravery,” the endorsers expressed. “The execution of a winner for his political views is a blatant attack on these principles and a warning to any competitor who dares to express dissent.

Pattern of Executing Sports Figures

The letter noted that the boxer's case was part of a pattern and emphasized Iran’s record of sentencing to death athletes for their views, including Habib Khabiri, captain of the national football team, and a women's sports leader, captain of the female volleyball side. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year national wrestling champion, was also executed.

Other endorsers to the letter consist of a sailing champion, who skippered the pioneering women's squad in a global yacht race and was the initial female to earn a renowned yachting trophy; the former skipper of the national squad an athlete; and a footballer, who was in the country's selection for the global tournament.

Arrest and Unfair Trial

Vafaei Sani was detained in the spring of 2020. The allegations against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and ruin of government belongings”. His sentence has been annulled twice but on October 4 it was upheld on the third attempt. His trial was denounced as “deeply biased” by advocates and bodies.

Call to International Body

The appeal to halt Vafaei Sani’s execution comes after a 2023 statement to the global human rights chief for freedoms, signed by more than 100 human rights experts and organizations, demanding intervention to prevent the sports figure's execution.

Capital Punishment Escalation

Based on reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has achieved horrific dimensions”. In two thousand twenty-three, officials sentenced at least 853 people – a nearly half rise on the previous year. The year before, statistics showed 972 executions, constituting the highest number since the year 2015. More than 800 people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and protesters are focus, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022's protests. Analysts say the government have used the death penalty to stifle dissent, create apprehension among the population and tighten their grip on power.