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In excess of 20 Olympic medal winners, coaches and further global sports figures have put their names to a statement calling for a end to the capital punishment of a champion boxer and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Increasing Global Anger

Amid increasing worldwide anger over the country's increasing application of the death penalty as a tool of suppression, the forcefully phrased appeal denounces the authorities's decision to maintain the death sentence of the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from the city in the northern province, was detained for being involved in nationwide protests in 2019 and accused of backing an dissident organization. He has spent half a decade in incarceration, where he has been mistreated and kept in seclusion.

“Sport is intended to promote faith, unity, and fortitude,” the supporters wrote. “The execution of a champion for his opinions is a blatant attack on these principles and a warning to any competitor who dares to speak out.

Record of Killing Competitors

The statement noted that the boxer's case was part of a pattern and emphasized the country's past of executing competitors for their beliefs, such as Habib Khabiri, leader of the football side, and Fourouzan Abdi, skipper of the female volleyball side. In 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old Iranian competitor, was put to death.

Additional supporters to the letter include Tracy Edwards, who led the inaugural all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the initial female to be awarded a esteemed sailing award; the former captain of the soccer side Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the national team for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

Vafaei Sani was taken into custody in the spring of 2020. The accusations against him entailed “causing deterioration on Earth through arson and destruction of government belongings”. His verdict has been annulled on two occasions but on October 4 it was upheld on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was criticized as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and organizations.

Urging to United Nations

The urging to halt Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment follows a 2023 statement to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, backed by over a hundred advocates and organizations, urging measures to avert the sports figure's death.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to reports, there is an “death penalty surge in the nation, which has attained alarming dimensions”. In 2023, the government sentenced at least 853 people – a nearly half increase on the previous year. In the prior period, data showed 972 deaths, constituting the peak figure since 2015. In excess of 800 people have been executed so far in 2025.

Activists and opponents are victims, notably in the aftermath of the 2022 protests. Experts say the regime have used the executions to suppress protest, create fear among the population and tighten their control on rule.