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Over 20 Olympic medal winners, coaches and further world-class competitors have put their names to a statement demanding a stop to the capital punishment of a boxing champion and coach, who is on death row in the country.

Escalating International Outrage

Amidst rising worldwide anger over the country's expanding employment of capital punishment as a tool of repression, the powerfully expressed appeal condemns the government's verdict to confirm the execution order of the athlete.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for participating in countrywide demonstrations in two thousand nineteen and charged of backing an opposition group. He has spent 60 months in detention, where he has been mistreated and confined in seclusion.

“Athletics is intended to encourage hope, togetherness, and fortitude,” the signatories stated. “The death penalty of a champion for his opinions is a blatant attack on these ideals and a warning to any competitor who ventures to speak out.

Pattern of Executing Sports Figures

The letter noted that the athlete's situation was not an isolated one and underscored Iran’s history of executing sports champions for their views, for example Habib Khabiri, captain of the soccer squad, and a volleyball captain, skipper of the female volleyball side. In 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old national competitor, faced the death penalty.

Further endorsers to the statement consist of Tracy Edwards, who captained the inaugural female-only team in a global yacht race and was the first woman to be awarded a renowned yachting trophy; the ex- leader of the national squad Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was detained in March 2020. The accusations against him entailed “promoting decay on Earth through incendiarism and damage of state assets”. His verdict has been annulled twice but on October 4 it was maintained on the third attempt. His court case was criticized as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and organizations.

Appeal to United Nations

The call to prevent the athlete's execution comes after a earlier statement to the United Nations official for human rights, endorsed by over a hundred human rights experts and groups, demanding intervention to avert the competitor's death.

Execution Crisis

As per data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has achieved shocking proportions”. In two thousand twenty-three, the government put to death at least over 850 people – a 48% surge on 2022. In the prior period, data showed 972 capital punishments, marking the highest number since two thousand fifteen. More than eight hundred people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Dissidents and protesters are victims, particularly in the wake of the 2022's protests. Experts say the government have used the executions to quell dissent, instil apprehension among the population and strengthen their control on rule.