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More than two dozen Olympic medal winners, coaches and further global sports figures have signed a appeal demanding a end to the capital punishment of a boxing champion and coach, who is facing execution in the nation.

Increasing International Outrage

During growing international outrage over the country's increasing application of executions as a instrument of repression, the forcefully phrased letter denounces the authorities's ruling to maintain the capital punishment of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The athlete, 30, from the city in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for being involved in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and indicted of supporting an opposition group. He has endured half a decade in prison, where he has been tortured and confined in solitary confinement.

“Sport is intended to inspire hope, unity, and bravery,” the signatories stated. “The execution of a titleholder for his beliefs is a clear violation on these principles and a admonition to all sportspeople who attempts to express dissent.

Pattern of Executing Competitors

The statement noted that the athlete's circumstances was not unique and emphasized Iran’s past of executing sports champions for their views, including Habib Khabiri, skipper of the football side, and Fourouzan Abdi, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old national sports titleholder, was also executed.

Further supporters to the statement comprise a yachting pioneer, who led the inaugural all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to receive a prestigious sailing award; the previous leader of the national squad an athlete; and a footballer, who was in the Iranian squad for the global tournament.

Apprehension and Flawed Legal Process

The boxer was detained in the spring of 2020. The charges against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and damage of state assets”. His sentence has been overturned twice but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was criticized as “grossly unfair” by rights defenders and groups.

Urging to International Body

The call to prevent the athlete's death sentence comes after a previous appeal to the global human rights chief for human rights, endorsed by more than one hundred advocates and groups, demanding intervention to prevent the sports figure's capital punishment.

Execution Crisis

According to findings, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has attained alarming levels”. In two thousand twenty-three, the government sentenced at least over 850 people – a forty-eight percent surge on 2022. In the prior period, statistics showed 972 executions, representing the peak figure since two thousand fifteen. In excess of eight hundred people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and dissidents are focus, notably in the aftermath of the the year 2022 protests. Experts say the Iranian authorities have employed the death penalty to suppress dissent, generate apprehension among the population and tighten their grip on power.