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More than two dozen Olympic medallists, mentors and additional global sports figures have signed a appeal calling for a stop to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and coach, who is on death row in the country.

Escalating International Outrage

During increasing global condemnation over the country's expanding employment of executions as a instrument of oppression, the powerfully expressed appeal condemns the government's verdict to uphold the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The boxer, three decades old, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was arrested for participating in countrywide demonstrations in 2019 and indicted of backing an dissident organization. He has spent five years in detention, where he has been abused and kept in seclusion.

“Athletics is intended to encourage faith, togetherness, and fortitude,” the endorsers wrote. “The capital punishment of a winner for his political views is a blatant attack on these ideals and a admonition to every athlete who dares to speak out.

Record of Putting to Death Competitors

The statement said that Vafaei Sani’s case was not an isolated one and underscored the country's history of putting to death athletes for their beliefs, including a football captain, captain of the soccer squad, and a volleyball captain, skipper of the women's volleyball squad. In two thousand twenty, an athlete, a 27-year-old national wrestling champion, was put to death.

Further endorsers to the statement comprise Tracy Edwards, who captained the first all-female crew in a international sailing event and was the first woman to earn a prestigious yachting trophy; the former captain of the national squad an athlete; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was arrested in early 2020. The allegations against him entailed “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and damage of public property”. His verdict has been overturned on two occasions but on the fourth of October it was upheld on the third occasion. His court case was criticized as “grossly unfair” by advocates and bodies.

Appeal to International Body

The appeal to prevent Vafaei Sani’s execution comes after a previous letter to the UN high commissioner for freedoms, signed by over a hundred advocates and entities, demanding measures to stop the athlete’s execution.

Capital Punishment Escalation

Based on reports, there is an “death penalty surge in the country, which has achieved horrific dimensions”. In 2023, officials executed at least over 850 people – a forty-eight percent surge on 2022. In the prior period, statistics showed 972 capital punishments, constituting the peak figure since the year 2015. More than eight hundred people have been executed so far in the current year.

Activists and dissidents are targets, notably in the wake of the 2022's protests. Analysts say the government have used the capital punishment to stifle opposition, create anxiety among the population and tighten their grip on authority.