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In excess of two dozen Olympic medal winners, mentors and further world-class competitors have endorsed a letter calling for a halt to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and instructor, who is sentenced to die in Iran.

Escalating International Outrage

During growing international outrage over the country's expanding employment of the death penalty as a tool of oppression, the powerfully expressed appeal denounces the government's verdict to uphold the death sentence of the athlete.

The athlete, 30, from the city in the northeastern region, was detained for being involved in nationwide protests in 2019 and charged of aiding an dissident organization. He has passed half a decade in prison, where he has been mistreated and confined in seclusion.

“Athletics is designed to encourage faith, solidarity, and bravery,” the endorsers stated. “The death penalty of a titleholder for his beliefs is a clear violation on these values and a admonition to every athlete who ventures to express dissent.

History of Executing Competitors

The appeal said that the boxer's case was not unique and emphasized Iran’s past of putting to death competitors for their views, such as a football captain, leader of the national football team, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the national women’s volleyball team. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a 27-year-old Iranian sports titleholder, faced the death penalty.

Other supporters to the appeal include Tracy Edwards, who captained the inaugural all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the pioneering lady to earn a prestigious nautical honor; the former skipper of the national squad Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Apprehension and Unfair Trial

Vafaei Sani was taken into custody in the spring of 2020. The allegations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and destruction of government belongings”. His sentence has been annulled multiple times but on 4 October it was upheld on the third occasion. His court case was denounced as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and bodies.

Urging to UN

The call to prevent the boxer's capital punishment comes after a earlier letter to the UN high commissioner for human rights, backed by more than one hundred human rights experts and entities, urging intervention to prevent the competitor's execution.

Death Penalty Surge

As per data, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has reached alarming dimensions”. In 2023, officials executed at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a nearly half surge on the previous year. The year before, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two capital punishments, representing the highest number since 2015. Over 800 people have been sentenced so far in the current year.

Political prisoners and protesters are victims, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 uprising. Analysts say the Iranian authorities have used the executions to suppress dissent, generate fear among the population and reinforce their hold on rule.