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Over 20 Olympic medallists, trainers and further world-class competitors have endorsed a letter calling for a stop to the death penalty of a boxing champion and trainer, who is sentenced to die in Iran.

Escalating International Outrage

Amid rising international outrage over the country's expanding employment of the death penalty as a instrument of repression, the powerfully expressed statement condemns the authorities's verdict to confirm the execution order of the athlete.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from the city in north-east Iran, was taken into custody for taking part in countrywide demonstrations in 2019 and accused of backing an opposition group. He has endured 60 months in detention, where he has been abused and kept in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is intended to promote optimism, togetherness, and courage,” the signatories wrote. “The capital punishment of a champion for his political views is a blatant attack on these ideals and a admonition to every athlete who dares to express dissent.

Record of Executing Competitors

The statement pointed out that the athlete's case was not an isolated one and underscored Iran’s record of sentencing to death competitors for their beliefs, such as a football captain, leader of the soccer squad, and a volleyball captain, leader of the women's volleyball squad. In the year 2020, a wrestling champion, a young Iranian sports titleholder, was put to death.

Other supporters to the statement comprise a yachting pioneer, who captained the first female-only team in a international sailing event and was the initial female to receive a renowned yachting trophy; the previous skipper of the national squad an athlete; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the international competition.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was detained in the spring of 2020. The allegations against him comprised “spreading corruption on Earth through incendiarism and ruin of public property”. His ruling has been annulled twice but on 4 October it was maintained on the latest review. His legal proceedings was denounced as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and bodies.

Appeal to United Nations

The urging to stop Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment follows a previous appeal to the global human rights chief for rights, backed by over one hundred rights specialists and organizations, urging intervention to prevent the athlete’s death.

Death Penalty Surge

As per reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has reached horrific levels”. In 2023, authorities sentenced at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a nearly half increase on the previous year. The year before, statistics showed 972 deaths, constituting the highest number since 2015. In excess of hundreds of people have been put to death so far in the current year.

Dissidents and protesters are victims, particularly in the aftermath of the the year 2022 uprising. Specialists say the government have utilized the capital punishment to stifle dissent, instil anxiety among the population and reinforce their control on authority.