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More than two dozen Olympic medal winners, coaches and additional international athletes have put their names to a statement demanding a stop to the death penalty of a champion boxer and coach, who is on death row in the nation.

Increasing Worldwide Condemnation

During growing global condemnation over Iran’s escalating use of capital punishment as a means of oppression, the powerfully expressed letter condemns the government's ruling to uphold the execution order of the athlete.

Vafaei Sani, thirty, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was arrested for being involved in national uprisings in the year 2019 and accused of aiding an dissident organization. He has endured 60 months in incarceration, where he has been mistreated and confined in seclusion.

“Sport is meant to inspire faith, unity, and courage,” the endorsers stated. “The death penalty of a champion for his political views is a blatant attack on these values and a caution to every athlete who ventures to voice opinions.

Record of Executing Athletes

The statement said that the boxer's case was not an isolated one and underscored the country's past of putting to death sports champions for their beliefs, for example Habib Khabiri, skipper of the national football team, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old Iranian competitor, was put to death.

Further supporters to the statement consist of Tracy Edwards, who skippered the inaugural all-female crew in a global yacht race and was the first woman to be awarded a renowned nautical honor; the ex- captain of the soccer side an athlete; and a footballer, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unfair Trial

The athlete was arrested in early 2020. The charges against him comprised “promoting decay on Earth through arson and destruction of state assets”. His verdict has been annulled twice but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the latest review. His trial was denounced as “grossly unfair” by rights defenders and groups.

Urging to International Body

The call to prevent Vafaei Sani’s death sentence comes after a 2023 appeal to the global human rights chief for human rights, signed by in excess of 100 advocates and entities, urging measures to prevent the athlete’s death.

Death Penalty Surge

According to reports, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has attained horrific proportions”. In 2023, officials put to death at least over 850 people – a 48% increase on 2022. In the prior period, statistics showed 972 capital punishments, representing the highest number since 2015. Over eight hundred people have been executed so far in the current year.

Dissidents and opponents are victims, notably in the wake of the 2022's protests. Analysts say the regime have used the capital punishment to suppress dissent, generate apprehension among the citizenry and reinforce their grip on power.