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More than two dozen Olympic champions, mentors and further global sports figures have put their names to a statement demanding a end to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and instructor, who is on death row in Iran.

Increasing International Outrage

Amid growing international outrage over the nation's expanding employment of the death penalty as a instrument of suppression, the forcefully phrased statement denounces the Iranian regime's verdict to confirm the death sentence of the athlete.

The athlete, 30, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for participating in countrywide demonstrations in 2019 and charged of supporting an opposition group. He has endured 60 months in detention, where he has been abused and kept in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is meant to promote optimism, togetherness, and bravery,” the endorsers stated. “The capital punishment of a champion for his opinions is a clear violation on these values and a warning to any competitor who dares to express dissent.

Record of Executing Sports Figures

The appeal said that Vafaei Sani’s case was part of a pattern and highlighted the nation's past of putting to death competitors for their views, such as a national team leader, leader of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year Iranian wrestling champion, was also executed.

Other supporters to the letter include a sailing champion, who led the first all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the initial female to receive a prestigious nautical honor; the previous captain of the national squad an athlete; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the Iranian squad for the global tournament.

Detention and Unjust Proceedings

Vafaei Sani was detained in the spring of 2020. The allegations against him comprised “promoting decay on Earth through arson and damage of government belongings”. His verdict has been annulled multiple times but on 4 October it was maintained on the latest review. His court case was denounced as “grossly unfair” by advocates and organizations.

Urging to International Body

The urging to prevent the athlete's death sentence comes after a previous letter to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, signed by more than a hundred advocates and entities, urging intervention to prevent the competitor's capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

As per reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the country, which has achieved alarming levels”. In 2023, officials put to death at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a 48% increase on 2022. Last year, statistics showed nearly a thousand executions, marking the highest number since 2015. In excess of hundreds of people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and protesters are targets, especially in the aftermath of the 2022's uprising. Experts say the government have used the executions to quell dissent, generate anxiety among the public and reinforce their control on authority.