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Over twenty Olympic medal winners, coaches and further world-class competitors have put their names to a letter urging a end to the capital punishment of a boxing champion and instructor, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

During increasing worldwide anger over the country's escalating use of the death penalty as a tool of suppression, the powerfully expressed appeal condemns the government's ruling to maintain the execution order of the boxing champion.

The boxer, 30, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was taken into custody for being involved in national uprisings in the year 2019 and indicted of supporting an opposition group. He has passed half a decade in incarceration, where he has been abused and held in solitary confinement.

“Competition is designed to encourage optimism, togetherness, and courage,” the signatories wrote. “The capital punishment of a titleholder for his political views is a clear violation on these values and a warning to any competitor who dares to voice opinions.

Record of Putting to Death Athletes

The letter said that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not unique and emphasized the country's past of sentencing to death athletes for their views, for example a football captain, captain of the football side, and a women's sports leader, captain of the female volleyball side. In 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old Iranian competitor, was also executed.

Other endorsers to the appeal include a sailing champion, who led the first women's squad in a global yacht race and was the first woman to earn a esteemed nautical honor; the previous captain of the national squad Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Apprehension and Flawed Legal Process

The boxer was detained in March 2020. The accusations against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through arson and ruin of government belongings”. His ruling has been reversed multiple times but on 4 October it was maintained on the third attempt. His legal proceedings was criticized as “highly unjust” by human rights activists and organizations.

Appeal to United Nations

The call to halt Vafaei Sani’s execution follows a earlier letter to the United Nations official for freedoms, endorsed by over 100 human rights experts and organizations, calling for measures to avert the athlete’s capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has achieved alarming levels”. In the year 2023, officials sentenced at least over 850 people – a nearly half rise on 2022. The year before, records showed nine hundred seventy-two executions, representing the maximum count since two thousand fifteen. In excess of hundreds of people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Dissidents and opponents are targets, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022's demonstrations. Experts say the Iranian authorities have used the executions to suppress dissent, generate fear among the population and reinforce their control on rule.