🔗 Share this article Sports Champions Urge on Iranian Authorities to Halt Death Sentence of Champion Boxer More than two dozen Olympic medal winners, coaches and further world-class competitors have signed a appeal calling for a end to the death penalty of a champion boxer and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the country. Escalating International Outrage Amidst increasing international outrage over Iran’s escalating use of the death penalty as a means of repression, the powerfully expressed appeal censures the Iranian regime's decision to uphold the capital punishment of the boxing champion. The boxer, 30, from the city in north-east Iran, was arrested for being involved in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and charged of aiding an opposition group. He has spent five years in detention, where he has been tortured and confined in seclusion. “Athletics is meant to encourage faith, togetherness, and bravery,” the supporters stated. “The capital punishment of a winner for his beliefs is a clear violation on these principles and a admonition to all sportspeople who ventures to voice opinions. History of Killing Sports Figures The statement said that the athlete's circumstances was not an isolated one and highlighted the nation's past of executing sports champions for their beliefs, including a national team leader, leader of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, leader of the women's volleyball squad. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a 27-year national competitor, was put to death. Other supporters to the appeal consist of a sailing champion, who captained the inaugural women's squad in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to be awarded a esteemed yachting trophy; the former skipper of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the national team for the global tournament. Arrest and Unjust Proceedings The athlete was detained in the spring of 2020. The charges against him comprised “promoting decay on Earth through arson and destruction of state assets”. His sentence has been reversed twice but on the fourth of October it was upheld on the latest review. His legal proceedings was denounced as “highly unjust” by human rights activists and groups. Call to UN The call to halt Vafaei Sani’s death sentence is subsequent to a previous statement to the global human rights chief for rights, backed by over 100 rights specialists and organizations, urging action to avert the sports figure's death. Death Penalty Surge As per data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has attained alarming dimensions”. In 2023, officials executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a forty-eight percent rise on 2022. Last year, records showed nearly a thousand executions, representing the maximum count since the year 2015. In excess of eight hundred people have been executed so far in 2025. Activists and opponents are targets, notably in the wake of the the year 2022 uprising. Analysts say the regime have utilized the executions to stifle protest, instil fear among the citizenry and tighten their control on power.