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In excess of 20 Olympic medal winners, coaches and further world-class competitors have signed a letter calling for a stop to the capital punishment of a champion boxer and instructor, who is facing execution in the nation.

Increasing International Outrage

Amidst increasing worldwide anger over Iran’s escalating use of the death penalty as a means of oppression, the forcefully phrased letter condemns the Iranian regime's ruling to maintain the execution order of the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from the city in the northern province, was detained for participating in national uprisings in the year 2019 and accused of backing an opposition group. He has endured five years in incarceration, where he has been abused and held in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is meant to inspire hope, unity, and fortitude,” the supporters stated. “The capital punishment of a winner for his political views is a clear violation on these ideals and a admonition to every athlete who dares to express dissent.

Record of Executing Athletes

The appeal pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was part of a pattern and highlighted the country's record of putting to death sports champions for their views, including a football captain, leader of the football side, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a young national wrestling champion, was also executed.

Other supporters to the letter include a sailing champion, who captained the pioneering female-only team in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to receive a renowned sailing award; the previous leader of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the international competition.

Arrest and Unjust Proceedings

The athlete was taken into custody in the spring of 2020. The allegations against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and ruin of government belongings”. His ruling has been overturned on two occasions but on 4 October it was confirmed on the latest review. His legal proceedings was condemned as “highly unjust” by human rights activists and bodies.

Appeal to UN

The appeal to halt Vafaei Sani’s death sentence comes after a earlier letter to the UN high commissioner for human rights, signed by more than one hundred human rights experts and organizations, demanding measures to stop the competitor's execution.

Death Penalty Surge

As per findings, there is an “death penalty surge in the country, which has reached horrific proportions”. In two thousand twenty-three, officials sentenced at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a forty-eight percent rise on 2022. In the prior period, data showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, constituting the peak figure since 2015. More than eight hundred people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and dissidents are victims, especially in the wake of the the year 2022 demonstrations. Analysts say the regime have used the capital punishment to quell protest, generate anxiety among the citizenry and strengthen their control on power.