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Over 20 Olympic medallists, coaches and other world-class competitors have put their names to a statement calling for a stop to the execution of a champion boxer and instructor, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Escalating International Outrage

Amid growing international outrage over Iran’s expanding employment of the death penalty as a tool of repression, the forcefully phrased letter denounces the Iranian regime's verdict to maintain the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

Vafaei Sani, 30, from the city in north-east Iran, was arrested for being involved in countrywide demonstrations in 2019 and indicted of backing an resistance movement. He has passed half a decade in prison, where he has been abused and held in seclusion.

“Competition is designed to inspire faith, togetherness, and bravery,” the supporters stated. “The execution of a winner for his opinions is a direct assault on these values and a admonition to all sportspeople who ventures to express dissent.

Pattern of Executing Athletes

The appeal noted that the athlete's situation was not an isolated one and underscored Iran’s record of sentencing to death sports champions for their convictions, for example a national team leader, captain of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the women's volleyball squad. In the year 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Other signatories to the appeal include Tracy Edwards, who led the inaugural all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to receive a renowned sailing award; the ex- leader of the national squad Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the global tournament.

Apprehension and Unfair Trial

The athlete was arrested in the spring of 2020. The charges against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and damage of government belongings”. His verdict has been annulled twice but on October 4 it was confirmed on the third occasion. His court case was condemned as “highly unjust” by advocates and organizations.

Urging to International Body

The appeal to halt the boxer's capital punishment comes after a previous letter to the United Nations official for freedoms, signed by over a hundred rights specialists and groups, demanding measures to prevent the competitor's execution.

Execution Crisis

Based on data, there is an “execution crisis in the nation, which has attained horrific proportions”. In the year 2023, officials sentenced at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent increase on 2022. Last year, records showed nearly a thousand executions, constituting the highest number since two thousand fifteen. In excess of eight hundred people have been put to death so far in the current year.

Activists and protesters are targets, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 protests. Analysts say the Iranian authorities have employed the death penalty to suppress opposition, instil anxiety among the citizenry and strengthen their control on authority.