🔗 Share this article Elite Athletes Call on Iran to Halt Execution of Champion Boxer Over twenty Olympic champions, trainers and other world-class competitors have endorsed a letter demanding a stop to the capital punishment of a boxing champion and trainer, who is on death row in Iran. Increasing International Outrage Amidst rising global condemnation over the nation's escalating use of the death penalty as a instrument of suppression, the powerfully expressed statement censures the government's ruling to confirm the capital punishment of the boxing champion. The boxer, thirty, from the city in north-east Iran, was arrested for being involved in national uprisings in 2019 and accused of aiding an dissident organization. He has spent half a decade in incarceration, where he has been abused and confined in seclusion. “Sport is designed to promote optimism, solidarity, and fortitude,” the supporters expressed. “The death penalty of a champion for his opinions is a direct assault on these principles and a warning to every athlete who dares to express dissent. History of Putting to Death Athletes The statement pointed out that Vafaei Sani’s case was part of a pattern and underscored Iran’s record of sentencing to death competitors for their views, such as a football captain, captain of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, captain of the national women’s volleyball team. In 2020, Navid Afkari, a young national sports titleholder, was put to death. Other endorsers to the statement include a yachting pioneer, who captained the inaugural women's squad in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to be awarded a prestigious nautical honor; the ex- skipper of the Australian football team a sports advocate; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the international competition. Detention and Unjust Proceedings The athlete was taken into custody in March 2020. The charges against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and ruin of government belongings”. His ruling has been annulled twice but on 4 October it was maintained on the third attempt. His court case was condemned as “highly unjust” by human rights activists and groups. Appeal to UN The urging to prevent the boxer's capital punishment is subsequent to a earlier appeal to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, backed by more than a hundred human rights experts and organizations, urging intervention to avert the athlete’s capital punishment. Execution Crisis Based on findings, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has achieved alarming levels”. In 2023, authorities executed at least over 850 people – a forty-eight percent rise on 2022. The year before, records showed 972 executions, marking the highest number since the year 2015. In excess of eight hundred people have been sentenced so far in the current year. Dissidents and dissidents are targets, especially in the aftermath of the 2022's demonstrations. Experts say the Iranian authorities have utilized the death penalty to stifle dissent, create apprehension among the population and reinforce their control on power.