🔗 Share this article Elite Athletes Urge on Iran to Stop Execution of Boxing Champion Over two dozen Olympic medal winners, coaches and other international athletes have put their names to a letter calling for a stop to the execution of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is facing execution in Iran. Increasing Global Anger Amid growing international outrage over Iran’s increasing application of executions as a instrument of oppression, the forcefully phrased appeal condemns the government's verdict to maintain the execution order of the athlete. Vafaei Sani, thirty, from the city in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for taking part in nationwide protests in 2019 and accused of aiding an resistance movement. He has passed five years in prison, where he has been mistreated and kept in solitary confinement. “Sport is intended to inspire optimism, solidarity, and fortitude,” the supporters wrote. “The execution of a champion for his opinions is a blatant attack on these principles and a admonition to any competitor who attempts to express dissent. Pattern of Putting to Death Sports Figures The appeal pointed out that the boxer's situation was not unique and highlighted Iran’s past of sentencing to death athletes for their beliefs, including a national team leader, leader of the national football team, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In two thousand twenty, an athlete, a 27-year-old national wrestling champion, was put to death. Additional endorsers to the letter comprise Tracy Edwards, who skippered the pioneering women's squad in a global yacht race and was the pioneering lady to be awarded a renowned yachting trophy; the former skipper of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the national team for the international competition. Detention and Unjust Proceedings The boxer was detained in early 2020. The allegations against him entailed “promoting decay on Earth through incendiarism and damage of state assets”. His verdict has been annulled on two occasions but on 4 October it was upheld on the latest review. His court case was criticized as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and groups. Call to UN The appeal to stop the boxer's execution is subsequent to a earlier appeal to the United Nations official for human rights, signed by in excess of a hundred rights specialists and entities, urging intervention to stop the sports figure's death. Execution Crisis Based on data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has attained alarming proportions”. In the year 2023, officials put to death at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a 48% rise on 2022. The year before, data showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, representing the maximum count since 2015. Over 800 people have been put to death so far in 2025. Political prisoners and opponents are victims, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 uprising. Specialists say the regime have utilized the capital punishment to stifle dissent, create fear among the population and tighten their control on power.