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More than twenty Olympic medallists, trainers and further world-class competitors have put their names to a appeal demanding a end to the capital punishment of a boxing champion and trainer, who is on death row in the country.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

Amid increasing worldwide anger over Iran’s expanding employment of capital punishment as a means of repression, the forcefully phrased appeal censures the government's decision to maintain the execution order of the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, 30, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for being involved in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and accused of aiding an opposition group. He has endured five years in detention, where he has been abused and held in isolation.

“Athletics is designed to encourage hope, togetherness, and courage,” the supporters stated. “The death penalty of a titleholder for his political views is a blatant attack on these values and a warning to any competitor who attempts to voice opinions.

Pattern of Executing Athletes

The appeal pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not an isolated one and highlighted the nation's record of executing athletes for their convictions, such as a football captain, captain of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, captain of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year national wrestling champion, was also executed.

Other supporters to the appeal comprise a sailing champion, who skippered the inaugural all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to receive a renowned nautical honor; the former skipper of the Australian football team a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the Iranian squad for the 1978 World Cup.

Detention and Unjust Proceedings

Vafaei Sani was arrested in March 2020. The charges against him entailed “causing deterioration on Earth through arson and destruction of government belongings”. His ruling has been reversed on two occasions but on October 4 it was confirmed on the third occasion. His trial was condemned as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and bodies.

Urging to UN

The call to stop Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment is subsequent to a earlier statement to the UN high commissioner for rights, backed by more than one hundred advocates and organizations, urging measures to stop the sports figure's execution.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has achieved shocking proportions”. In the year 2023, officials executed at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent increase on 2022. In the prior period, data showed nine hundred seventy-two capital punishments, representing the peak figure since 2015. Over 800 people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and protesters are targets, notably in the aftermath of the 2022 demonstrations. Analysts say the regime have utilized the death penalty to stifle dissent, generate anxiety among the public and tighten their grip on authority.