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Over 20 Olympic champions, coaches and further global sports figures have signed a appeal urging a end to the death penalty of a boxing champion and coach, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Growing Global Anger

Amid rising global condemnation over Iran’s expanding employment of capital punishment as a instrument of suppression, the forcefully phrased letter denounces the government's verdict to confirm the execution order of the athlete.

The boxer, 30, from the city in the northern province, was arrested for participating in national uprisings in 2019 and charged of backing an dissident organization. He has endured 60 months in prison, where he has been mistreated and kept in solitary confinement.

“Competition is designed to promote faith, togetherness, and courage,” the signatories wrote. “The death penalty of a champion for his opinions is a blatant attack on these values and a caution to any competitor who attempts to speak out.

Record of Executing Sports Figures

The letter said that Vafaei Sani’s case was part of a pattern and emphasized the country's past of sentencing to death athletes for their beliefs, such as a national team leader, skipper of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, a wrestling champion, a young national sports titleholder, faced the death penalty.

Additional signatories to the statement include Tracy Edwards, who led the first women's squad in a international sailing event and was the initial female to receive a esteemed nautical honor; the former skipper of the Australian football team a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

The boxer was taken into custody in early 2020. The accusations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and destruction of government belongings”. His ruling has been reversed on two occasions but on October 4 it was confirmed on the third attempt. His court case was denounced as “grossly unfair” by advocates and groups.

Call to United Nations

The urging to stop the boxer's execution follows a previous letter to the United Nations official for rights, endorsed by more than 100 advocates and organizations, demanding action to prevent the sports figure's capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

Based on findings, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has achieved alarming levels”. In the year 2023, officials executed at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent rise on 2022. The year before, data showed 972 deaths, constituting the maximum count since 2015. In excess of eight hundred people have been put to death so far in the current year.

Dissidents and opponents are victims, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022's uprising. Experts say the Iranian authorities have utilized the executions to suppress opposition, instil apprehension among the citizenry and reinforce their control on authority.