Sports Champions Call on Iranian Authorities to Halt Death Sentence of Boxing Champion
Over two dozen Olympic medal winners, trainers and other international athletes have endorsed a letter calling for a halt to the execution of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is sentenced to die in Iran.
Increasing Global Anger
Amid rising global condemnation over Iran’s expanding employment of capital punishment as a instrument of repression, the forcefully phrased appeal denounces the authorities's ruling to maintain the death sentence of the boxing champion.
The boxer, 30, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was detained for taking part in national uprisings in 2019 and accused of aiding an opposition group. He has spent five years in prison, where he has been mistreated and confined in seclusion.
“Competition is designed to inspire optimism, solidarity, and courage,” the signatories expressed. “The capital punishment of a winner for his political views is a clear violation on these values and a warning to every athlete who attempts to express dissent.
History of Executing Sports Figures
The letter noted that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was part of a pattern and underscored the nation's history of sentencing to death athletes for their convictions, such as a national team leader, skipper of the football side, and a women's sports leader, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old national competitor, was also executed.
Further endorsers to the statement comprise Tracy Edwards, who captained the first women's squad in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to receive a esteemed yachting trophy; the former captain of the national squad an athlete; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.
Detention and Unjust Proceedings
The athlete was arrested in early 2020. The charges against him included “promoting decay on Earth through incendiarism and damage of government belongings”. His sentence has been overturned multiple times but on 4 October it was maintained on the third attempt. His court case was condemned as “grossly unfair” by advocates and organizations.
Urging to UN
The appeal to halt the athlete's execution is subsequent to a previous appeal to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, endorsed by over a hundred advocates and entities, urging intervention to stop the athlete’s capital punishment.
Capital Punishment Escalation
As per data, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has achieved horrific proportions”. In the year 2023, officials executed at least 853 people – a 48% rise on 2022. Last year, data showed nine hundred seventy-two executions, marking the maximum count since 2015. In excess of 800 people have been executed so far in 2025.
Activists and dissidents are focus, especially in the aftermath of the 2022's uprising. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have employed the executions to stifle dissent, create anxiety among the population and reinforce their control on rule.
