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In excess of twenty Olympic medal winners, mentors and additional world-class competitors have endorsed a appeal calling for a halt to the execution of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Growing Worldwide Condemnation

Amidst growing global condemnation over Iran’s escalating use of capital punishment as a means of suppression, the powerfully expressed statement condemns the Iranian regime's ruling to confirm the execution order of the athlete.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from Mashhad in the northern province, was taken into custody for taking part in nationwide protests in two thousand nineteen and charged of backing an dissident organization. He has endured five years in detention, where he has been mistreated and kept in solitary confinement.

“Competition is meant to encourage hope, unity, and fortitude,” the signatories wrote. “The death penalty of a titleholder for his opinions is a direct assault on these principles and a caution to any competitor who dares to voice opinions.

History of Executing Competitors

The letter pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was part of a pattern and underscored the nation's record of executing competitors for their convictions, including a national team leader, captain of the soccer squad, and a volleyball captain, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In the year 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, was put to death.

Other endorsers to the statement comprise a sailing champion, who led the first all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to receive a esteemed nautical honor; the ex- captain of the national squad an athlete; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was arrested in early 2020. The charges against him entailed “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and damage of public property”. His ruling has been reversed on two occasions but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the latest review. His court case was criticized as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and organizations.

Call to United Nations

The call to halt Vafaei Sani’s capital punishment is subsequent to a previous letter to the global human rights chief for human rights, backed by over a hundred rights specialists and organizations, calling for measures to stop the competitor's death.

Capital Punishment Escalation

Based on findings, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has attained shocking dimensions”. In two thousand twenty-three, the government executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a nearly half rise on 2022. In the prior period, statistics showed nearly a thousand executions, representing the peak figure since two thousand fifteen. More than 800 people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and opponents are victims, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022's protests. Specialists say the regime have utilized the death penalty to quell protest, instil anxiety among the population and strengthen their grip on authority.