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In excess of two dozen Olympic champions, coaches and other global sports figures have endorsed a letter urging a end to the death penalty of a boxing champion and instructor, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Growing Global Anger

During rising international outrage over the country's increasing application of the death penalty as a tool of suppression, the strongly worded statement censures the government's decision to maintain the death sentence of the boxing champion.

The boxer, three decades old, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was detained for participating in countrywide demonstrations in the year 2019 and accused of supporting an resistance movement. He has passed 60 months in incarceration, where he has been abused and held in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is designed to inspire optimism, solidarity, and courage,” the endorsers expressed. “The execution of a winner for his beliefs is a direct assault on these values and a admonition to all sportspeople who ventures to voice opinions.

Record of Killing Sports Figures

The letter pointed out that the athlete's case was not an isolated one and underscored the country's past of putting to death competitors for their views, for example a football captain, skipper of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, leader of the national women’s volleyball team. In 2020, an athlete, a young Iranian wrestling champion, was also executed.

Other signatories to the statement comprise Tracy Edwards, who skippered the inaugural female-only team in a global yacht race and was the pioneering lady to receive a prestigious nautical honor; the previous leader of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unfair Trial

Vafaei Sani was arrested in March 2020. The accusations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and ruin of state assets”. His verdict has been overturned multiple times but on 4 October it was confirmed on the latest review. His trial was denounced as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and organizations.

Appeal to International Body

The call to prevent the boxer's death sentence is subsequent to a previous letter to the UN high commissioner for human rights, endorsed by in excess of one hundred advocates and groups, demanding action to stop the sports figure's capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

According to findings, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has reached shocking levels”. In 2023, authorities sentenced at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a 48% increase on the previous year. In the prior period, statistics showed 972 deaths, marking the peak figure since two thousand fifteen. More than hundreds of people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and protesters are targets, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022's demonstrations. Analysts say the government have employed the death penalty to suppress dissent, instil apprehension among the population and strengthen their control on power.