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Over twenty Olympic champions, trainers and further international athletes have put their names to a statement calling for a end to the capital punishment of a champion boxer and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Growing International Outrage

During rising global condemnation over the country's increasing application of executions as a tool of oppression, the strongly worded appeal condemns the authorities's verdict to maintain the death sentence of the athlete.

The athlete, 30, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was arrested for taking part in nationwide protests in 2019 and accused of backing an opposition group. He has endured 60 months in detention, where he has been mistreated and held in seclusion.

“Sport is designed to promote hope, unity, and fortitude,” the signatories wrote. “The execution of a winner for his beliefs is a direct assault on these values and a caution to any competitor who ventures to speak out.

Record of Executing Sports Figures

The statement pointed out that the boxer's situation was not an isolated one and emphasized the nation's record of executing athletes for their views, including a football captain, leader of the football side, and a women's sports leader, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In the year 2020, an athlete, a 27-year-old national wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Other signatories to the statement consist of a sailing champion, who captained the inaugural all-female crew in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to earn a esteemed sailing award; the ex- captain of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the Iranian squad for the 1978 World Cup.

Arrest and Unjust Proceedings

Vafaei Sani was arrested in March 2020. The allegations against him entailed “spreading corruption on Earth through arson and destruction of public property”. His ruling has been annulled on two occasions but on October 4 it was maintained on the latest review. His legal proceedings was condemned as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and groups.

Urging to UN

The call to halt Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment comes after a earlier statement to the UN high commissioner for rights, endorsed by more than 100 advocates and groups, calling for action to prevent the sports figure's execution.

Death Penalty Surge

According to data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has attained shocking proportions”. In the year 2023, officials executed at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent increase on 2022. In the prior period, statistics showed 972 deaths, representing the highest number since 2015. Over 800 people have been executed so far in 2025.

Activists and opponents are targets, especially in the aftermath of the the year 2022 demonstrations. Analysts say the Iranian authorities have employed the capital punishment to quell dissent, create apprehension among the population and strengthen their control on authority.