Over twenty Olympic medal winners, mentors and further international athletes have endorsed a appeal calling for a stop to the death penalty of a boxing champion and coach, who is facing execution in the nation.
Growing International Outrage
During rising worldwide anger over Iran’s increasing application of the death penalty as a means of repression, the powerfully expressed appeal denounces the authorities's verdict to confirm the death sentence of the athlete.
Vafaei Sani, 30, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for participating in national uprisings in 2019 and indicted of supporting an dissident organization. He has spent five years in prison, where he has been abused and confined in isolation.
“Athletics is designed to promote optimism, unity, and courage,” the signatories expressed. “The capital punishment of a winner for his opinions is a clear violation on these ideals and a warning to any competitor who ventures to speak out.
Pattern of Executing Athletes
The letter noted that Vafaei Sani’s situation was part of a pattern and underscored the country's record of putting to death sports champions for their convictions, including Habib Khabiri, captain of the soccer squad, and a volleyball captain, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a 27-year national wrestling champion, was put to death.
Additional endorsers to the appeal include a yachting pioneer, who captained the pioneering all-female crew in a international sailing event and was the first woman to be awarded a renowned yachting trophy; the ex- skipper of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the global tournament.
Apprehension and Flawed Legal Process
Vafaei Sani was arrested in early 2020. The accusations against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and damage of state assets”. His ruling has been overturned twice but on 4 October it was upheld on the third attempt. His legal proceedings was denounced as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and bodies.
Appeal to United Nations
The urging to halt the athlete's death sentence comes after a previous statement to the United Nations official for rights, signed by more than one hundred advocates and organizations, urging intervention to prevent the competitor's capital punishment.
Execution Crisis
Based on reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has attained horrific proportions”. In 2023, authorities executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a forty-eight percent rise on 2022. The year before, records showed 972 capital punishments, marking the maximum count since two thousand fifteen. More than 800 people have been executed so far in 2025.
Dissidents and dissidents are targets, especially in the wake of the 2022 protests. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have used the executions to quell dissent, generate anxiety among the citizenry and reinforce their hold on power.
