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Over 20 Olympic medallists, coaches and other international athletes have put their names to a appeal demanding a halt to the capital punishment of a boxing titleholder and instructor, who is on death row in Iran.

Growing Worldwide Condemnation

During growing worldwide anger over Iran’s expanding employment of the death penalty as a means of repression, the powerfully expressed statement condemns the government's decision to maintain the capital punishment of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The boxer, thirty, from the city in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for participating in countrywide demonstrations in 2019 and charged of aiding an dissident organization. He has spent 60 months in prison, where he has been mistreated and held in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is designed to inspire hope, unity, and fortitude,” the signatories expressed. “The execution of a titleholder for his opinions is a clear violation on these principles and a warning to every athlete who dares to speak out.

Pattern of Killing Sports Figures

The letter said that the boxer's case was part of a pattern and emphasized the nation's history of sentencing to death athletes for their views, such as a national team leader, leader of the soccer squad, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year Iranian competitor, faced the death penalty.

Additional endorsers to the appeal comprise a yachting pioneer, who led the first all-female crew in a international sailing event and was the first woman to earn a prestigious sailing award; the former skipper of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the national team for the global tournament.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was arrested in March 2020. The accusations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and damage of public property”. His sentence has been annulled multiple times but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the third occasion. His court case was condemned as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and bodies.

Urging to UN

The call to prevent the athlete's death sentence follows a 2023 letter to the UN high commissioner for human rights, backed by in excess of a hundred human rights experts and groups, demanding intervention to stop the competitor's capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

As per reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has reached alarming proportions”. In the year 2023, officials executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a 48% rise on 2022. The year before, data 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 the current year.

Activists and protesters are targets, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 uprising. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have used the capital punishment to stifle dissent, generate fear among the citizenry and strengthen their control on authority.