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Over two dozen Olympic medal winners, trainers and further world-class competitors have endorsed a appeal urging a end to the death penalty of a champion boxer and coach, who is facing execution in the nation.

Growing Global Anger

Amid growing global condemnation over Iran’s expanding employment of the death penalty as a instrument of suppression, the strongly worded appeal censures the authorities's decision to maintain the capital punishment of the boxing champion.

The athlete, thirty, from the city in north-east Iran, was taken into custody for taking part in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and charged of supporting an dissident organization. He has spent half a decade in prison, where he has been tortured and confined in solitary confinement.

“Sport is designed to encourage hope, togetherness, and courage,” the supporters expressed. “The capital punishment of a champion for his political views is a blatant attack on these values and a admonition to any competitor who dares to voice opinions.

History of Killing Athletes

The appeal pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was not an isolated one and underscored the nation's past of sentencing to death competitors for their views, for example Habib Khabiri, leader of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, skipper of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, an athlete, a 27-year-old Iranian competitor, faced the death penalty.

Additional supporters to the letter include Tracy Edwards, who captained the pioneering women's squad in a global yacht race and was the pioneering lady to be awarded a prestigious nautical honor; the ex- captain of the national squad a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the national team for the 1978 World Cup.

Arrest and Unfair Trial

The boxer was arrested in March 2020. The accusations against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through incendiarism and damage of state assets”. His sentence has been overturned twice but on the fourth of October it was confirmed on the latest review. His court case was criticized as “highly unjust” by human rights activists and organizations.

Call to International Body

The appeal to halt the athlete's execution follows a previous letter to the global human rights chief for rights, backed by over one hundred rights specialists and entities, urging measures to prevent the athlete’s execution.

Death Penalty Surge

As per findings, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has attained shocking dimensions”. In 2023, officials executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a 48% increase on 2022. Last year, records showed 972 capital punishments, constituting the maximum count since two thousand fifteen. Over 800 people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and dissidents are victims, notably in the aftermath of the 2022 uprising. Specialists say the government have used the capital punishment to stifle protest, instil apprehension among the population and tighten their grip on authority.