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More than 20 Olympic medallists, mentors and further international athletes have put their names to a statement calling for a end to the death penalty of a boxing champion and coach, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Escalating International Outrage

Amid increasing international outrage over the country's expanding employment of executions as a means of oppression, the strongly worded statement denounces the government's decision to confirm the death sentence of the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, three decades old, from the city in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for being involved in nationwide protests in the year 2019 and accused of backing an opposition group. He has passed 60 months in detention, where he has been abused and kept in seclusion.

“Competition is meant to encourage hope, unity, and bravery,” the endorsers stated. “The execution of a titleholder for his beliefs is a clear violation on these ideals and a caution to all sportspeople who ventures to express dissent.

Pattern of Executing Competitors

The letter said that Vafaei Sani’s case was not unique and emphasized the country's record of putting to death sports champions for their convictions, for example Habib Khabiri, captain of the soccer squad, and a volleyball captain, captain of the female volleyball side. In 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old national competitor, was also executed.

Other endorsers to the statement comprise a yachting pioneer, who skippered the pioneering female-only team in a global yacht race and was the initial female to earn a prestigious sailing award; the ex- leader of the national squad Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Detention and Unfair Trial

The boxer was taken into custody in March 2020. The charges against him comprised “spreading corruption on Earth through arson and destruction of public property”. His verdict has been reversed twice but on October 4 it was upheld on the third occasion. His trial was condemned as “deeply biased” by human rights activists and organizations.

Appeal to International Body

The urging to stop Vafaei Sani’s execution follows a 2023 statement to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, endorsed by over 100 human rights experts and groups, demanding measures to stop the competitor's capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

As per reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has reached alarming proportions”. In two thousand twenty-three, authorities sentenced at least over 850 people – a nearly half surge on the previous year. The year before, data showed 972 deaths, marking the highest number since two thousand fifteen. Over hundreds of people have been put to death so far in the current year.

Dissidents and protesters are victims, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022's uprising. Experts say the Iranian authorities have utilized the death penalty to stifle opposition, create apprehension among the public and reinforce their grip on authority.