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More than 20 Olympic medallists, mentors and other world-class competitors have put their names to a statement demanding a stop to the execution of a boxing champion and trainer, who is on death row in the nation.

Growing International Outrage

Amidst increasing international outrage over the nation's increasing application of capital punishment as a instrument of repression, the powerfully expressed statement censures the government's ruling to maintain the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from the city in the northeastern region, was arrested for being involved in nationwide protests in two thousand nineteen and accused of aiding an opposition group. He has spent 60 months in prison, where he has been mistreated and kept in seclusion.

“Competition is designed to inspire faith, solidarity, and bravery,” the endorsers expressed. “The execution of a winner for his political views is a direct assault on these values and a warning to any competitor who ventures to express dissent.

Record of Executing Athletes

The letter pointed out that the athlete's situation was not an isolated one and underscored the country's past of putting to death athletes for their views, including a national team leader, skipper of the football side, and a volleyball captain, leader of the women's volleyball squad. In two thousand twenty, Navid Afkari, a 27-year Iranian competitor, was also executed.

Other supporters to the statement include a yachting pioneer, who led the inaugural female-only team in a global yacht race and was the initial female to be awarded a prestigious yachting trophy; the previous skipper of the soccer side a sports advocate; and a sports figure, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was taken into custody in early 2020. The accusations against him entailed “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and ruin of government belongings”. His verdict has been annulled twice but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the third attempt. His court case was denounced as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and bodies.

Urging to International Body

The call to halt the athlete's execution follows a earlier letter to the UN high commissioner for rights, signed by more than one hundred advocates and entities, demanding intervention to prevent the competitor's death.

Capital Punishment Escalation

Based on data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has reached shocking proportions”. In 2023, authorities executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a forty-eight percent increase on the previous year. The year before, statistics showed 972 deaths, marking the maximum count since 2015. Over 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and protesters are targets, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 protests. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have used the death penalty to suppress dissent, generate fear among the public and reinforce their control on rule.