🔗 Share this article

In excess of two dozen Olympic champions, trainers and additional international athletes have put their names to a statement calling for a halt to the execution of a boxing titleholder and instructor, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Increasing International Outrage

During increasing international outrage over Iran’s escalating use of executions as a means of repression, the strongly worded letter censures the authorities's decision to confirm the death sentence of the athlete.

The boxer, 30, from the city in the northern province, was arrested for being involved in national uprisings in 2019 and indicted of backing an opposition group. He has passed half a decade in detention, where he has been mistreated and kept in solitary confinement.

“Competition is meant to encourage optimism, unity, and courage,” the endorsers wrote. “The execution of a titleholder for his political views is a clear violation on these ideals and a caution to any competitor who ventures to speak out.

Record of Executing Competitors

The letter noted that Vafaei Sani’s case was not an isolated one and highlighted Iran’s past of sentencing to death competitors for their beliefs, for example a football captain, leader of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, skipper of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, an athlete, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, was also executed.

Additional supporters to the statement consist of a yachting pioneer, who skippered the pioneering all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to receive a renowned nautical honor; the previous captain of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

The athlete was arrested in early 2020. The allegations against him entailed “causing deterioration on Earth through arson and ruin of public property”. His verdict has been reversed twice but on 4 October it was upheld on the latest review. His legal proceedings was denounced as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and groups.

Urging to International Body

The call to halt the athlete's death sentence is subsequent to a previous appeal to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, endorsed by more than one hundred advocates and entities, calling for intervention to prevent the athlete’s execution.

Capital Punishment Escalation

Based on findings, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has achieved horrific proportions”. In 2023, the government put to death at least over 850 people – a nearly half rise on 2022. Last year, statistics showed 972 capital punishments, constituting the maximum count since 2015. Over eight hundred people have been executed so far in the current year.

Political prisoners and dissidents are victims, especially in the aftermath of the the year 2022 protests. Experts say the Iranian authorities have used the capital punishment to suppress opposition, create apprehension among the citizenry and strengthen their control on authority.