🔗 Share this article Elite Athletes Appeal on Iran to Stop Death Sentence of Boxing Star More than twenty Olympic champions, mentors and other international athletes have endorsed a statement demanding a halt to the execution of a champion boxer and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the nation. Growing Worldwide Condemnation Amidst growing worldwide anger over the country's escalating use of executions as a instrument of suppression, the strongly worded statement censures the government's ruling to maintain the execution order of the athlete. The boxer, 30, from the city in the northern province, was taken into custody for taking part in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and accused of supporting an opposition group. He has endured half a decade in detention, where he has been mistreated and confined in seclusion. “Sport is intended to promote optimism, togetherness, and courage,” the signatories wrote. “The death penalty of a titleholder for his beliefs is a blatant attack on these values and a warning to all sportspeople who attempts to express dissent. Pattern of Putting to Death Sports Figures The statement pointed out that the boxer's situation was not an isolated one and underscored Iran’s history of putting to death sports champions for their beliefs, for example a national team leader, leader of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the national women’s volleyball team. In 2020, an athlete, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, faced the death penalty. Further signatories to the appeal comprise a yachting pioneer, who skippered the pioneering women's squad in a global yacht race and was the first woman to be awarded a renowned nautical honor; the ex- skipper of the national squad Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the Iranian squad for the global tournament. Arrest and Flawed Legal Process The athlete was detained in March 2020. The accusations against him included “promoting decay on Earth through fire-setting and damage of state assets”. His ruling has been reversed on two occasions but on the fourth of October it was confirmed on the third attempt. His court case was denounced as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and organizations. Call to United Nations The call to prevent Vafaei Sani’s execution is subsequent to a 2023 statement to the UN high commissioner for rights, backed by in excess of one hundred advocates and organizations, demanding intervention to prevent the athlete’s death. Execution Crisis According to data, there is an “death penalty surge in the nation, which has reached horrific proportions”. In the year 2023, the government sentenced at least over 850 people – a 48% surge on 2022. In the prior period, statistics showed 972 deaths, representing the maximum count since 2015. Over eight hundred people have been sentenced so far in 2025. Dissidents and dissidents are victims, especially in the wake of the 2022 demonstrations. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have utilized the executions to suppress dissent, create anxiety among the citizenry and tighten their grip on authority.