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Over 20 Olympic medallists, mentors and further international athletes have put their names to a appeal urging a halt to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is facing execution in Iran.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

Amid increasing international outrage over the country's expanding employment of executions as a means of suppression, the powerfully expressed letter denounces the Iranian regime's ruling to confirm the capital punishment of the boxing champion.

The boxer, thirty, from the city in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for participating in national uprisings in the year 2019 and indicted of aiding an resistance movement. He has passed half a decade in incarceration, where he has been tortured and kept in isolation.

“Athletics is intended to inspire optimism, solidarity, and bravery,” the endorsers wrote. “The execution of a titleholder for his beliefs is a direct assault on these ideals and a warning to every athlete who dares to voice opinions.

Pattern of Killing Competitors

The letter pointed out that the athlete's circumstances was not an isolated one and underscored the country's past of sentencing to death athletes for their convictions, including Habib Khabiri, skipper of the football side, and a volleyball captain, leader of the female volleyball side. In the year 2020, an athlete, a young national sports titleholder, was put to death.

Further signatories to the statement comprise a sailing champion, who skippered the pioneering women's squad in a global yacht race and was the initial female to receive a prestigious sailing award; the ex- leader of the national squad Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the Iranian squad for the 1978 World Cup.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

Vafaei Sani was arrested in the spring of 2020. The allegations against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through incendiarism and damage of government belongings”. His sentence has been annulled on two occasions but on October 4 it was maintained on the latest review. His trial was denounced as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and groups.

Appeal to United Nations

The appeal to halt the boxer's death sentence comes after a earlier appeal to the global human rights chief for freedoms, backed by more than one hundred rights specialists and entities, calling for measures to avert the athlete’s execution.

Death Penalty Surge

As per reports, there is an “execution crisis in the country, which has reached alarming dimensions”. In the year 2023, the government sentenced at least 853 people – a nearly half increase on the previous year. Last year, records showed nearly a thousand deaths, constituting the peak figure since two thousand fifteen. Over hundreds of people have been executed so far in 2025.

Dissidents and opponents are focus, notably in the wake of the 2022's demonstrations. Experts say the Iranian authorities have used the executions to stifle protest, instil apprehension among the citizenry and strengthen their control on rule.