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More than 20 Olympic champions, trainers and further global sports figures have endorsed a statement calling for a stop to the execution of a boxing titleholder and coach, who is on death row in the nation.

Increasing Global Anger

Amidst growing international outrage over the country's expanding employment of the death penalty as a tool of suppression, the powerfully expressed appeal denounces the government's ruling to maintain the death sentence of the athlete.

The athlete, 30, from the city in the northern province, was detained for taking part in national uprisings in the year 2019 and charged of aiding an dissident organization. He has endured five years in incarceration, where he has been mistreated and kept in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is designed to inspire optimism, solidarity, and courage,” the endorsers stated. “The death penalty of a titleholder for his opinions is a blatant attack on these ideals and a caution to every athlete who attempts to express dissent.

Record of Putting to Death Sports Figures

The statement said that the boxer's circumstances was not unique and highlighted the nation's history of sentencing to death athletes for their views, for example a football captain, leader of the football side, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, an athlete, a young Iranian wrestling champion, was put to death.

Further signatories to the appeal consist of a sailing champion, who skippered the pioneering all-female crew in a international sailing event and was the first woman to be awarded a esteemed sailing award; the previous captain of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Detention and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was arrested in early 2020. The allegations against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through incendiarism and damage of public property”. His verdict has been annulled twice but on the fourth of October it was upheld on the third occasion. His trial was denounced as “highly unjust” by advocates and organizations.

Call to United Nations

The call to halt Vafaei Sani’s death sentence is subsequent to a earlier statement to the global human rights chief for freedoms, signed by more than a hundred advocates and organizations, demanding intervention to avert the athlete’s death.

Capital Punishment Escalation

As per findings, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has attained alarming dimensions”. In the year 2023, the government put to death at least 853 people – a nearly half rise on 2022. The year before, statistics showed 972 deaths, constituting the peak figure since two thousand fifteen. More than 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and opponents are victims, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 uprising. Analysts say the regime have utilized the capital punishment to quell dissent, create fear among the citizenry and reinforce their control on power.