🔗 Share this article

More than two dozen Olympic medal winners, trainers and additional international athletes have endorsed a letter calling for a stop to the death penalty of a champion boxer and instructor, who is facing execution in Iran.

Growing Worldwide Condemnation

During rising global condemnation over the nation's escalating use of the death penalty as a means of suppression, the strongly worded letter censures the authorities's ruling to uphold the execution order of the boxing champion.

The boxer, 30, from the city in the northern province, was detained for taking part in nationwide protests in two thousand nineteen and indicted of aiding an opposition group. He has passed 60 months in detention, where he has been mistreated and confined in isolation.

“Athletics is meant to encourage optimism, unity, and bravery,” the supporters stated. “The capital punishment of a titleholder for his beliefs is a direct assault on these values and a caution to all sportspeople who dares to voice opinions.

History of Killing Sports Figures

The appeal said that the boxer's situation was not unique and highlighted the nation's history of sentencing to death competitors for their beliefs, including a football captain, leader of the football side, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the female volleyball side. In two thousand twenty, an athlete, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, was put to death.

Additional signatories to the appeal include Tracy Edwards, who skippered the first female-only team in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to earn a prestigious sailing award; the former captain of the Australian football team a sports advocate; and a sports figure, who was in the national team for the 1978 World Cup.

Arrest and Unfair Trial

The athlete was arrested in the spring of 2020. The accusations against him entailed “spreading corruption on Earth through incendiarism and destruction of government belongings”. His sentence has been reversed multiple times but on 4 October it was upheld on the third attempt. His legal proceedings was criticized as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and organizations.

Call to United Nations

The call to halt Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment follows a earlier statement to the UN high commissioner for human rights, signed by more than 100 rights specialists and entities, demanding action to prevent the sports figure's execution.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to findings, there is an “execution crisis in the nation, which has attained shocking proportions”. In two thousand twenty-three, authorities executed at least over 850 people – a 48% increase on the previous year. In the prior period, data showed 972 deaths, representing the peak figure since 2015. More than 800 people have been executed so far in the current year.

Dissidents and protesters are targets, notably in the aftermath of the 2022 demonstrations. Experts say the Iranian authorities have utilized the death penalty to stifle dissent, generate anxiety among the population and reinforce their grip on power.