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More than 20 Olympic medal winners, coaches and other global sports figures have put their names to a statement urging a stop to the execution of a champion boxer and coach, who is facing execution in the nation.

Growing International Outrage

Amidst growing global condemnation over the nation's expanding employment of executions as a tool of repression, the forcefully phrased statement condemns the government's verdict to confirm the execution order of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The boxer, three decades old, from the city in the northern province, was arrested for taking part in countrywide demonstrations in two thousand nineteen and indicted of supporting an resistance movement. He has passed half a decade in prison, where he has been tortured and kept in seclusion.

“Athletics is meant to encourage hope, unity, and fortitude,” the endorsers expressed. “The execution of a winner for his opinions is a blatant attack on these ideals and a warning to all sportspeople who attempts to voice opinions.

History of Killing Sports Figures

The letter said that Vafaei Sani’s situation was not unique and highlighted the nation's past of executing competitors for their convictions, such as a football captain, skipper of the national football team, and a women's sports leader, leader of the women's volleyball squad. In two thousand twenty, a wrestling champion, a 27-year national wrestling champion, was put to death.

Additional supporters to the appeal comprise a sailing champion, who led the first women's squad in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to receive a esteemed nautical honor; the previous captain of the soccer side an athlete; and a footballer, who was in the Iranian squad for the international competition.

Arrest and Unjust Proceedings

The athlete was detained in the spring of 2020. The accusations against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and destruction of government belongings”. His verdict has been annulled twice but on October 4 it was upheld on the third occasion. His trial was criticized as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and groups.

Urging to International Body

The appeal to stop the athlete's execution follows a 2023 appeal to the United Nations official for freedoms, endorsed by over a hundred rights specialists and groups, demanding action to prevent the sports figure's execution.

Capital Punishment Escalation

According to reports, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has attained horrific proportions”. In two thousand twenty-three, authorities put to death at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent rise on 2022. In the prior period, data showed nearly a thousand executions, representing the highest number since 2015. More than 800 people have been executed so far in the current year.

Political prisoners and protesters are targets, notably in the wake of the 2022's uprising. Specialists say the regime have employed the executions to suppress dissent, generate apprehension among the public and reinforce their control on authority.