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Over two dozen Olympic champions, trainers and additional international athletes have signed a statement urging a halt to the execution of a boxing champion and trainer, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Escalating International Outrage

Amid increasing international outrage over Iran’s expanding employment of capital punishment as a instrument of oppression, the strongly worded letter condemns the authorities's ruling to maintain the death sentence of the boxing champion.

The athlete, three decades old, from the city in north-east Iran, was detained for taking part in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and charged of backing an opposition group. He has endured five years in incarceration, where he has been abused and confined in isolation.

“Sport is intended to encourage faith, togetherness, and fortitude,” the signatories stated. “The capital punishment of a winner for his beliefs is a clear violation on these values and a warning to any competitor who attempts to speak out.

Pattern of Executing Athletes

The letter said that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not an isolated one and underscored the nation's history of putting to death athletes for their convictions, including a national team leader, captain of the football side, and Fourouzan Abdi, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, was put to death.

Other supporters to the statement include Tracy Edwards, who skippered the pioneering women's squad in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to receive a prestigious yachting trophy; the ex- leader of the Australian football team Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the national team for the 1978 World Cup.

Detention and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was detained in March 2020. The charges against him comprised “promoting decay on Earth through arson and ruin of public property”. His verdict has been annulled twice but on October 4 it was maintained on the third attempt. His legal proceedings was denounced as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and organizations.

Call to UN

The call to stop the athlete's execution follows a previous appeal to the United Nations official for human rights, endorsed by over one hundred advocates and groups, calling for measures to stop the competitor's death.

Death Penalty Surge

Based on reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has achieved shocking dimensions”. In the year 2023, the government executed at least 853 people – a 48% surge on 2022. Last year, records showed 972 executions, marking the maximum count since two thousand fifteen. Over eight hundred people have been put to death so far in the current year.

Dissidents and dissidents are victims, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 demonstrations. Analysts say the government have used the death penalty to stifle opposition, generate apprehension among the population and strengthen their control on authority.