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More than two dozen Olympic medallists, mentors and further international athletes have put their names to a statement urging a end to the capital punishment of a champion boxer and trainer, who is on death row in Iran.

Growing International Outrage

During growing international outrage over the nation's increasing application of executions as a tool of suppression, the strongly worded statement censures the authorities's decision to confirm the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from the city in the northeastern region, was detained for being involved in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and charged of supporting an resistance movement. He has passed half a decade in incarceration, where he has been tortured and kept in solitary confinement.

“Competition is intended to promote hope, solidarity, and fortitude,” the supporters wrote. “The capital punishment of a titleholder for his beliefs is a direct assault on these ideals and a caution to any competitor who dares to express dissent.

Record of Putting to Death Competitors

The letter noted that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was part of a pattern and emphasized the nation's record of executing competitors for their beliefs, for example a national team leader, captain of the national football team, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the national women’s volleyball team. In 2020, an athlete, a young Iranian sports titleholder, was put to death.

Additional endorsers to the letter comprise a sailing champion, who led the pioneering all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the initial female to be awarded a esteemed nautical honor; the ex- leader of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

Vafaei Sani was taken into custody in the spring of 2020. The charges against him entailed “promoting decay on Earth through arson and damage of public property”. His ruling has been reversed multiple times but on October 4 it was confirmed on the third occasion. His trial was criticized as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and organizations.

Appeal to International Body

The appeal to halt Vafaei Sani’s execution follows a previous statement to the global human rights chief for freedoms, signed by over one hundred human rights experts and groups, urging intervention to prevent the competitor's execution.

Execution Crisis

Based on reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has reached shocking proportions”. In the year 2023, officials put to death at least 853 people – a 48% rise on 2022. In the prior period, records showed 972 capital punishments, representing the maximum count since the year 2015. More than eight hundred people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and protesters are targets, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 uprising. Experts say the Iranian authorities have used the capital punishment to suppress opposition, create apprehension among the citizenry and strengthen their control on rule.