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Over two dozen Olympic champions, coaches and other international athletes have signed a appeal calling for a stop to the death penalty of a boxing champion and trainer, who is on death row in the country.

Growing International Outrage

Amidst increasing worldwide anger over Iran’s increasing application of the death penalty as a means of oppression, the strongly worded appeal censures the authorities's decision to confirm the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The athlete, three decades old, from the city in north-east Iran, was arrested for being involved in countrywide demonstrations in 2019 and accused of backing an resistance movement. He has endured 60 months in incarceration, where he has been tortured and held in isolation.

“Competition is intended to encourage faith, unity, and fortitude,” the endorsers wrote. “The capital punishment of a champion for his opinions is a direct assault on these values and a warning to every athlete who ventures to voice opinions.

Record of Putting to Death Competitors

The appeal said that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was part of a pattern and underscored the nation's record of executing sports champions for their views, such as a football captain, skipper of the national football team, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, Navid Afkari, a 27-year Iranian sports titleholder, was put to death.

Further signatories to the letter include a sailing champion, who skippered the pioneering female-only team in a international sailing event and was the first woman to receive a renowned sailing award; the ex- skipper of the national squad Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

The athlete was arrested in the spring of 2020. The allegations against him comprised “spreading corruption on Earth through incendiarism and damage of state assets”. His verdict has been overturned multiple times but on October 4 it was maintained on the third occasion. His court case was condemned as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and organizations.

Call to UN

The call to prevent Vafaei Sani’s death sentence is subsequent to a earlier statement to the United Nations official for human rights, signed by in excess of a hundred human rights experts and organizations, demanding action to avert the competitor's capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has achieved alarming proportions”. In the year 2023, the government executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a 48% rise on 2022. Last year, data showed nearly a thousand deaths, marking the highest number since two thousand fifteen. In excess of eight hundred people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and opponents are victims, notably in the aftermath of the 2022 uprising. Experts say the government have utilized the executions to quell protest, generate apprehension among the citizenry and strengthen their hold on rule.