🔗 Share this article

Over two dozen Olympic champions, mentors and other world-class competitors have endorsed a letter urging a stop to the execution of a champion boxer and instructor, who is on death row in the country.

Escalating International Outrage

Amidst growing global condemnation over the country's escalating use of executions as a instrument of oppression, the forcefully phrased statement denounces the Iranian regime's verdict to uphold the capital punishment of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The athlete, three decades old, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was detained for being involved in national uprisings in the year 2019 and charged of aiding an resistance movement. He has spent five years in prison, where he has been mistreated and kept in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is designed to inspire hope, unity, and fortitude,” the signatories expressed. “The execution of a titleholder for his opinions is a direct assault on these ideals and a admonition to any competitor who attempts to express dissent.

History of Killing Competitors

The appeal said that the boxer's situation was not unique and highlighted the nation's record of executing athletes for their beliefs, for example a national team leader, skipper of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, a wrestling champion, a young national competitor, faced the death penalty.

Further signatories to the appeal include Tracy Edwards, who skippered the inaugural all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the pioneering lady to receive a esteemed yachting trophy; the ex- leader of the Australian football team an athlete; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the global tournament.

Detention and Unfair Trial

The boxer was taken into custody in March 2020. The charges against him entailed “promoting decay on Earth through fire-setting and damage of government belongings”. His sentence has been annulled twice but on October 4 it was confirmed on the third occasion. His legal proceedings was denounced as “highly unjust” by advocates and groups.

Call to International Body

The call to prevent the athlete's capital punishment is subsequent to a 2023 letter to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, signed by more than one hundred human rights experts and entities, urging intervention to prevent the athlete’s death.

Execution Crisis

Based on reports, there is an “execution crisis in the country, which has reached horrific dimensions”. In 2023, officials put to death at least over 850 people – a nearly half surge on 2022. Last year, statistics showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, marking the highest number since two thousand fifteen. More than 800 people have been sentenced so far in the current year.

Activists and opponents are targets, especially in the aftermath of the 2022's uprising. Specialists say the Iranian authorities have utilized the executions to quell opposition, create apprehension among the population and reinforce their hold on authority.