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More than twenty Olympic champions, coaches and further global sports figures have put their names to a letter urging a end to the capital punishment of a boxing titleholder and instructor, who is facing execution in the country.

Increasing International Outrage

During growing worldwide anger over the country's escalating use of executions as a instrument of repression, the strongly worded letter condemns the Iranian regime's decision to uphold the capital punishment of the athlete.

The boxer, three decades old, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was arrested for participating in national uprisings in the year 2019 and accused of aiding an opposition group. He has passed 60 months in prison, where he has been mistreated and kept in isolation.

“Athletics is meant to inspire hope, solidarity, and bravery,” the supporters stated. “The execution of a titleholder for his political views is a clear violation on these principles and a admonition to all sportspeople who ventures to speak out.

Record of Putting to Death Competitors

The appeal noted that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not unique and emphasized the nation's past of sentencing to death athletes for their convictions, for example Habib Khabiri, leader of the football side, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, an athlete, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Further signatories to the statement include a yachting pioneer, who captained the pioneering women's squad in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to be awarded a prestigious nautical honor; the former captain of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the national team for the 1978 World Cup.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

The boxer was detained in early 2020. The charges against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through arson and ruin of state assets”. His ruling has been overturned twice but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was condemned as “highly unjust” by human rights activists and organizations.

Appeal to International Body

The appeal to halt the athlete's capital punishment comes after a 2023 appeal to the United Nations official for human rights, endorsed by more than a hundred advocates and entities, demanding intervention to prevent the athlete’s execution.

Death Penalty Surge

According to reports, there is an “death penalty surge in the country, which has reached shocking proportions”. In two thousand twenty-three, the government executed at least 853 people – a 48% rise on 2022. The year before, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two executions, constituting the highest number since two thousand fifteen. More than eight hundred people have been put to death so far in the current year.

Activists and opponents are victims, especially in the wake of the 2022 protests. Specialists say the government have employed the executions to stifle opposition, instil fear among the population and reinforce their control on rule.