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More than two dozen Olympic medallists, coaches and other international athletes have put their names to a letter calling for a end to the execution of a boxing champion and instructor, who is sentenced to die in Iran.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

During increasing global condemnation over the country's expanding employment of capital punishment as a means of oppression, the strongly worded statement censures the Iranian regime's verdict to confirm the capital punishment of the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, 30, from Mashhad in the northern province, was arrested for participating in countrywide demonstrations in two thousand nineteen and indicted of aiding an opposition group. He has passed five years in detention, where he has been tortured and confined in isolation.

“Athletics is meant to inspire optimism, unity, and bravery,” the supporters wrote. “The capital punishment of a champion for his beliefs is a clear violation on these values and a caution to any competitor who ventures to speak out.

Record of Killing Competitors

The letter said that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was part of a pattern and highlighted the nation's history of sentencing to death competitors for their views, for example a national team leader, captain of the football side, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a young national sports titleholder, was also executed.

Further supporters to the appeal comprise a yachting pioneer, who captained the inaugural all-female crew in a international sailing event and was the initial female to earn a renowned nautical honor; the former leader of the soccer side an athlete; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the global tournament.

Apprehension and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was arrested in early 2020. The allegations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and destruction of government belongings”. His sentence has been reversed on two occasions but on October 4 it was maintained on the third attempt. His trial was denounced as “deeply biased” by advocates and groups.

Call to United Nations

The call to halt the athlete's capital punishment follows a 2023 letter to the global human rights chief for rights, signed by in excess of 100 advocates and groups, calling for measures to prevent the competitor's capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

According to reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has attained alarming dimensions”. In 2023, officials sentenced at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent surge on the previous year. The year before, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two capital punishments, representing the maximum count since 2015. Over eight hundred people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and dissidents are victims, especially in the wake of the 2022 protests. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have used the capital punishment to quell opposition, generate apprehension among the population and tighten their hold on rule.