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In excess of 20 Olympic champions, coaches and further international athletes have signed a appeal urging a stop to the death penalty of a champion boxer and instructor, who is facing execution in Iran.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

During growing global condemnation over the country's expanding employment of executions as a tool of oppression, the forcefully phrased statement censures the authorities's decision to confirm the execution order of the athlete.

The athlete, three decades old, from the city in north-east Iran, was detained for being involved in nationwide protests in the year 2019 and accused of supporting an resistance movement. He has spent five years in incarceration, where he has been tortured and kept in isolation.

“Sport is intended to promote faith, togetherness, and bravery,” the endorsers stated. “The death penalty of a winner for his beliefs is a direct assault on these principles and a caution to every athlete who attempts to speak out.

Record of Killing Athletes

The appeal said that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not unique and underscored Iran’s history of executing sports champions for their views, including a national team leader, leader of the football side, and a women's sports leader, leader of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, an athlete, a young national competitor, was put to death.

Additional signatories to the statement consist of a sailing champion, who led the first female-only team in a global yacht race and was the initial female to receive a renowned yachting trophy; the former skipper of the soccer side an athlete; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Arrest and Unjust Proceedings

The athlete was detained in March 2020. The charges against him comprised “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and damage of government belongings”. His ruling has been overturned on two occasions but on 4 October it was confirmed on the latest review. His trial was denounced as “highly unjust” by advocates and groups.

Appeal to United Nations

The appeal to stop the athlete's death sentence follows a 2023 appeal to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, signed by more than one hundred advocates and entities, calling for intervention to avert the athlete’s execution.

Death Penalty Surge

As per data, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has achieved shocking levels”. In the year 2023, officials executed at least over 850 people – a nearly half surge on the previous year. Last year, statistics showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, marking the peak figure since 2015. In excess of hundreds of people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and dissidents are victims, notably in the aftermath of the 2022 protests. Experts say the regime have employed the death penalty to suppress opposition, generate fear among the public and strengthen their grip on rule.