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In excess of 20 Olympic champions, coaches and additional global sports figures have signed a letter calling for a end to the death penalty of a champion boxer and trainer, who is facing execution in Iran.

Growing Global Anger

Amidst rising global condemnation over the country's increasing application of the death penalty as a instrument of suppression, the forcefully phrased appeal denounces the government's decision to maintain the death sentence of the boxing champion.

The boxer, three decades old, from the city in the northern province, was detained for taking part in nationwide protests in two thousand nineteen and charged of supporting an dissident organization. He has endured five years in incarceration, where he has been abused and kept in solitary confinement.

“Sport is meant to encourage faith, togetherness, and bravery,” the supporters wrote. “The death penalty of a champion for his beliefs is a blatant attack on these values and a warning to all sportspeople who ventures to express dissent.

History of Executing Sports Figures

The statement pointed out that the boxer's situation was not unique and underscored Iran’s record of sentencing to death competitors for their convictions, including Habib Khabiri, leader of the football side, and a volleyball captain, leader of the female volleyball side. In two thousand twenty, Navid Afkari, a young national wrestling champion, was put to death.

Further supporters to the statement include a sailing champion, who captained the pioneering all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the first woman to be awarded a prestigious sailing award; the ex- captain of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the Iranian squad for the 1978 World Cup.

Apprehension and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was detained in March 2020. The charges against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and damage of public property”. His verdict has been annulled on two occasions but on October 4 it was maintained on the third attempt. His trial was condemned as “highly unjust” by advocates and bodies.

Call to UN

The call to prevent Vafaei Sani’s death sentence is subsequent to a 2023 appeal to the UN high commissioner for rights, backed by over a hundred rights specialists and organizations, urging action to prevent the sports figure's capital punishment.

Execution Crisis

Based on reports, there is an “execution crisis in the country, which has reached alarming proportions”. In the year 2023, officials put to death at least 853 people – a nearly half surge on 2022. The year before, data showed 972 deaths, marking the maximum count since two thousand fifteen. More than hundreds of people have been executed so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and opponents are targets, notably in the aftermath of the 2022 demonstrations. Analysts say the government have used the death penalty to suppress dissent, generate fear among the public and strengthen their hold on rule.