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More than 20 Olympic medal winners, trainers and additional global sports figures have signed a appeal urging a stop to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is facing execution in Iran.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

Amid growing global condemnation over Iran’s increasing application of capital punishment as a instrument of suppression, the powerfully expressed appeal condemns the government's decision to uphold the capital punishment of the boxing champion.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from the city in the northern province, was detained for participating in countrywide demonstrations in the year 2019 and accused of backing an resistance movement. He has endured five years in detention, where he has been mistreated and confined in seclusion.

“Competition is designed to inspire optimism, togetherness, and bravery,” the endorsers expressed. “The capital punishment of a winner for his beliefs is a direct assault on these values and a warning to all sportspeople who dares to speak out.

Record of Killing Sports Figures

The letter noted that Vafaei Sani’s case was part of a pattern and emphasized the country's past of sentencing to death athletes for their beliefs, such as Habib Khabiri, skipper 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 Iranian competitor, faced the death penalty.

Additional endorsers to the statement include a yachting pioneer, who led the inaugural female-only team in a round-the-world competition and was the initial female to earn a renowned nautical honor; the ex- skipper of the national squad an athlete; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the international competition.

Arrest and Unfair Trial

The boxer was taken into custody in March 2020. The allegations against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and destruction of government belongings”. His ruling has been overturned twice but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the third attempt. His trial was denounced as “deeply biased” by advocates and groups.

Appeal to United Nations

The appeal to halt the boxer's execution comes after a previous appeal to the global human rights chief for freedoms, signed by in excess of 100 rights specialists and groups, urging intervention to stop the sports figure's capital punishment.

Execution Crisis

Based on data, there is an “death penalty surge in the country, which has reached horrific proportions”. In 2023, authorities put to death at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent surge on 2022. Last year, statistics showed 972 executions, constituting the peak figure since the year 2015. In excess of 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Activists and opponents are victims, particularly in the wake of the the year 2022 protests. Experts say the Iranian authorities have employed the executions to stifle opposition, generate apprehension among the population and reinforce their control on authority.