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Over twenty Olympic champions, coaches and additional global sports figures have put their names to a appeal urging a end to the death penalty of a champion boxer and instructor, who is facing execution in the country.

Increasing Worldwide Condemnation

Amid growing global condemnation over the nation's escalating use of the death penalty as a tool of suppression, the powerfully expressed appeal censures the Iranian regime's decision to uphold the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The athlete, thirty, from the city in the northern province, was taken into custody for participating in nationwide protests in 2019 and charged of backing an dissident organization. He has spent five years in incarceration, where he has been tortured and confined in seclusion.

“Athletics is designed to promote faith, solidarity, and courage,” the endorsers expressed. “The execution of a champion for his opinions is a direct assault on these principles and a caution to all sportspeople who ventures to voice opinions.

Pattern of Executing Competitors

The letter pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was not unique and underscored the country's past of executing sports champions for their beliefs, including Habib Khabiri, captain of the soccer squad, and a volleyball captain, captain of the female volleyball side. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a young Iranian competitor, was put to death.

Other endorsers to the appeal consist of Tracy Edwards, who captained the pioneering female-only team in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to receive a esteemed yachting trophy; the ex- skipper of the Australian football team an athlete; and a footballer, who was in the Iranian squad for the global tournament.

Apprehension and Unfair Trial

The boxer was taken into custody in March 2020. The allegations against him comprised “promoting decay on Earth through arson and ruin of state assets”. His ruling has been overturned on two occasions but on October 4 it was upheld on the third attempt. His court case was condemned as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and bodies.

Appeal to United Nations

The appeal to prevent the boxer's death sentence follows a previous letter to the UN high commissioner for rights, endorsed by more than a hundred advocates and entities, urging intervention to avert the sports figure's capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

Based on reports, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has reached horrific dimensions”. In 2023, the government put to death at least over 850 people – a 48% rise on 2022. Last year, records showed nearly a thousand deaths, constituting the highest number since two thousand fifteen. In excess of hundreds of people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and protesters are victims, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 protests. Experts say the regime have used the capital punishment to quell protest, create fear among the citizenry and strengthen their grip on power.