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More than twenty Olympic medallists, coaches and further world-class competitors have endorsed a letter calling for a end to the death penalty of a champion boxer and trainer, who is facing execution in Iran.

Escalating International Outrage

During increasing global condemnation over Iran’s escalating use of capital punishment as a means of suppression, the forcefully phrased appeal condemns the government's verdict to confirm the death sentence of the boxing champion.

The boxer, three decades old, from the city in the northeastern region, was detained for being involved in nationwide protests in two thousand nineteen and indicted of aiding an opposition group. He has spent five years in incarceration, where he has been abused and held in isolation.

“Athletics is meant to promote hope, togetherness, and bravery,” the supporters stated. “The execution of a winner for his beliefs is a blatant attack on these values and a caution to all sportspeople who attempts to voice opinions.

Record of Putting to Death Competitors

The appeal said that the boxer's circumstances was not unique and underscored the country's record of putting to death athletes for their convictions, including Habib Khabiri, leader of the soccer squad, and a women's sports leader, leader of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, an athlete, a 27-year national sports titleholder, faced the death penalty.

Other endorsers to the appeal include a sailing champion, who skippered the first all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the pioneering lady to receive a esteemed sailing award; the previous skipper of the national squad Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Arrest and Unfair Trial

The boxer was taken into custody in the spring of 2020. The accusations against him entailed “promoting decay on Earth through arson and destruction of state assets”. His ruling has been overturned multiple times but on the fourth of October it was confirmed on the third occasion. His trial was denounced as “deeply biased” by advocates and organizations.

Appeal to UN

The call to halt Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment comes after a 2023 letter to the global human rights chief for rights, backed by in excess of one hundred human rights experts and entities, calling for measures to prevent the athlete’s death.

Execution Crisis

According to data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has attained shocking proportions”. In the year 2023, officials sentenced at least 853 people – a 48% increase on 2022. Last year, statistics showed 972 capital punishments, constituting the peak figure since two thousand fifteen. In excess of hundreds of people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and dissidents are victims, notably in the aftermath of the the year 2022 demonstrations. Specialists say the regime have utilized the death penalty to stifle opposition, instil anxiety among the citizenry and reinforce their hold on authority.