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In excess of two dozen Olympic medallists, mentors and other international athletes have endorsed a appeal urging a halt to the execution of a champion boxer and instructor, who is on death row in Iran.

Increasing Worldwide Condemnation

During increasing global condemnation over the nation's escalating use of capital punishment as a tool of repression, the strongly worded statement censures the government's decision to confirm the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The boxer, thirty, from the city in the northeastern region, was arrested for taking part in national uprisings in 2019 and accused of supporting an opposition group. He has spent half a decade in incarceration, where he has been abused and kept in isolation.

“Athletics is meant to promote faith, unity, and courage,” the supporters stated. “The capital punishment of a winner for his beliefs is a direct assault on these ideals and a caution to all sportspeople who ventures to voice opinions.

Pattern of Putting to Death Competitors

The appeal noted that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was not an isolated one and emphasized the nation's past of executing competitors for their convictions, including a national team leader, leader of the soccer squad, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old national sports titleholder, was put to death.

Additional supporters to the statement include a sailing champion, who skippered the pioneering women's squad in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to earn a renowned sailing award; the previous captain of the national squad a sports advocate; and a sports figure, who was in the national team for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

Vafaei Sani was detained in early 2020. The allegations against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and damage of public property”. His sentence has been reversed twice but on the fourth of October it was upheld on the latest review. His court case was condemned as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and organizations.

Urging to UN

The call to stop the boxer's execution follows a earlier statement to the global human rights chief for human rights, signed by more than one hundred rights specialists and organizations, calling for intervention to stop the athlete’s capital punishment.

Execution Crisis

Based on reports, there is an “execution crisis in the country, which has achieved horrific levels”. In 2023, officials sentenced at least over 850 people – a 48% increase on 2022. Last year, data showed 972 executions, marking the maximum count since two thousand fifteen. More than 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and dissidents are victims, especially in the aftermath of the the year 2022 protests. Specialists say the regime have used the death penalty to stifle opposition, instil apprehension among the public and tighten their grip on rule.