🔗 Share this article Sports Champions Appeal on Iran to Prevent Death Sentence of Boxing Champion Over 20 Olympic medal winners, trainers and additional international athletes have endorsed a appeal calling for a end to the execution of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is on death row in Iran. Escalating Worldwide Condemnation Amidst increasing global condemnation over the country's escalating use of capital punishment as a tool of repression, the strongly worded appeal condemns the government's ruling to maintain the death sentence of the boxing champion. The athlete, three decades old, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for participating in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and charged of supporting an opposition group. He has passed half a decade in detention, where he has been tortured and kept in isolation. “Athletics is meant to encourage hope, solidarity, and courage,” the supporters expressed. “The death penalty of a champion for his political views is a clear violation on these principles and a warning to any competitor who dares to voice opinions. History of Putting to Death Competitors The appeal pointed out that the boxer's situation was not unique and underscored the country's record of executing competitors for their beliefs, such as a football captain, skipper of the football side, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the female volleyball side. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year national competitor, faced the death penalty. Further supporters to the statement include Tracy Edwards, who captained the first all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the first woman to receive a esteemed sailing award; the previous captain of the soccer side a sports advocate; and a sports figure, who was in the Iranian squad for the 1978 World Cup. Arrest and Unjust Proceedings The boxer was taken into custody in the spring of 2020. The accusations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and destruction of state assets”. His ruling has been reversed on two occasions but on the fourth of October it was upheld on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was denounced as “grossly unfair” by rights defenders and organizations. Appeal to United Nations The appeal to prevent Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment follows a previous letter to the global human rights chief for rights, backed by over a hundred human rights experts and entities, urging measures to stop the sports figure's execution. Capital Punishment Escalation Based on findings, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has attained horrific levels”. In 2023, authorities sentenced at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a forty-eight percent surge on 2022. Last year, statistics showed 972 deaths, marking the highest number since two thousand fifteen. Over eight hundred people have been sentenced so far in 2025. Dissidents and opponents are targets, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 uprising. Analysts say the government have employed the capital punishment to quell opposition, instil anxiety among the public and tighten their hold on authority.