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In excess of twenty Olympic medallists, trainers and further world-class competitors have signed a appeal urging a halt to the execution of a boxing champion and trainer, who is facing execution in Iran.

Increasing International Outrage

Amidst rising worldwide anger over Iran’s increasing application of executions as a means of repression, the strongly worded letter censures the government's ruling to confirm the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The athlete, three decades old, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was arrested for being involved in nationwide protests in the year 2019 and charged of backing an dissident organization. He has endured half a decade in detention, where he has been mistreated and held in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is meant to encourage faith, togetherness, and courage,” the supporters expressed. “The capital punishment of a champion for his opinions is a clear violation on these values and a warning to all sportspeople who ventures to express dissent.

Pattern of Putting to Death Competitors

The letter pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not an isolated one and emphasized the nation's history of sentencing to death athletes for their views, such as a national team leader, captain of the football side, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the female volleyball side. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old national wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Further signatories to the appeal consist of a yachting pioneer, who led the inaugural female-only team in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to earn a renowned sailing award; the previous leader of the soccer side an athlete; and a footballer, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Detention and Flawed Legal Process

The boxer was detained in the spring of 2020. The accusations against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and destruction of state assets”. His verdict has been annulled on two occasions but on 4 October it was maintained on the latest review. His court case was criticized as “highly unjust” by human rights activists and organizations.

Call to UN

The call to halt the boxer's death sentence comes after a 2023 letter to the UN high commissioner for rights, signed by over one hundred rights specialists and entities, demanding intervention to avert the sports figure's capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

As per findings, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has reached shocking levels”. In 2023, authorities sentenced at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a 48% rise on the previous year. In the prior period, records showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, constituting the peak figure since the year 2015. More than hundreds of people have been sentenced so far in the current year.

Activists and protesters are targets, notably in the aftermath of the 2022 protests. Experts say the regime have utilized the death penalty to quell dissent, generate fear among the citizenry and tighten their control on rule.