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In excess of 20 Olympic champions, coaches and other international athletes have endorsed a statement urging a end to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and trainer, who is sentenced to die in Iran.

Growing Global Anger

During rising international outrage over Iran’s escalating use of the death penalty as a instrument of repression, the forcefully phrased letter denounces the authorities's decision to maintain the execution order of the athlete.

The boxer, 30, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for participating in national uprisings in 2019 and charged of backing an resistance movement. He has spent five years in prison, where he has been tortured and kept in solitary confinement.

“Sport is intended to encourage optimism, togetherness, and fortitude,” the signatories wrote. “The execution of a winner for his opinions is a blatant attack on these values and a caution to all sportspeople who ventures to voice opinions.

Record of Executing Sports Figures

The appeal noted that Vafaei Sani’s circumstances was part of a pattern and underscored Iran’s record of sentencing to death competitors for their beliefs, for example a football captain, captain of the football side, and a volleyball captain, captain of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year national sports titleholder, faced the death penalty.

Additional supporters to the statement include Tracy Edwards, who captained the pioneering female-only team in a international sailing event and was the first woman to receive a renowned nautical honor; the former captain of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unfair Trial

Vafaei Sani was taken into custody in the spring of 2020. The accusations against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through arson and ruin of state assets”. His ruling has been overturned on two occasions but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the third attempt. His legal proceedings was criticized as “deeply biased” by advocates and groups.

Appeal to UN

The urging to prevent Vafaei Sani’s execution is subsequent to a earlier appeal to the UN high commissioner for human rights, backed by more than one hundred human rights experts and entities, urging measures to stop the athlete’s capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

As per findings, there is an “death penalty surge in the nation, which has attained alarming dimensions”. In two thousand twenty-three, authorities put to death at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a nearly half surge on the previous year. The year before, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two deaths, marking the highest number since the year 2015. More than 800 people have been sentenced so far in the current year.

Political prisoners and opponents are focus, particularly in the wake of the 2022's demonstrations. Analysts say the Iranian authorities have used the capital punishment to quell protest, generate anxiety among the public and reinforce their grip on authority.