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In excess of two dozen Olympic medallists, mentors and additional international athletes 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 global condemnation over the nation's expanding employment of capital punishment as a instrument of oppression, the strongly worded statement censures the authorities's decision to maintain the death sentence of the athlete.

The boxer, three decades old, from the city in north-east Iran, was detained for being involved in national uprisings in 2019 and charged of aiding an dissident organization. He has passed half a decade in prison, where he has been abused and held in seclusion.

“Competition is designed to promote hope, solidarity, and courage,” the signatories wrote. “The capital punishment of a titleholder for his opinions is a direct assault on these ideals and a warning to any competitor who ventures to voice opinions.

Record of Executing Competitors

The appeal pointed out that the athlete's situation was not unique and emphasized the nation's record of sentencing to death competitors for their views, such as Habib Khabiri, skipper of the football side, and a volleyball captain, captain of the female volleyball side. In 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old national wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Other endorsers to the statement comprise a sailing champion, who skippered the inaugural women's squad in a international sailing event and was the first woman to be awarded a esteemed nautical honor; the previous captain of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the national team for the 1978 World Cup.

Detention and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was detained in March 2020. The charges against him comprised “promoting decay on Earth through fire-setting and ruin of public property”. His verdict has been overturned on two occasions but on 4 October it was maintained on the third attempt. His legal proceedings was condemned as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and organizations.

Call to UN

The call to prevent the boxer's execution comes after a earlier letter to the UN high commissioner for human rights, endorsed by in excess of 100 advocates and organizations, calling for action to avert the athlete’s death.

Death Penalty Surge

As per data, there is an “execution crisis in the country, which has reached horrific dimensions”. In 2023, authorities sentenced at least over 850 people – a forty-eight percent rise on the previous year. In the prior period, data showed nearly a thousand executions, representing the peak figure since the year 2015. Over hundreds of people have been executed so far in the current year.

Dissidents and dissidents are victims, especially in the wake of the the year 2022 uprising. Experts say the Iranian authorities have employed the capital punishment to suppress protest, create anxiety among the public and tighten their control on authority.