🔗 Share this article

Over 20 Olympic medal winners, mentors and further global sports figures have put their names to a letter calling for a halt to the execution of a boxing champion and coach, who is on death row in Iran.

Increasing International Outrage

Amidst increasing global condemnation over the country's escalating use of capital punishment as a instrument of repression, the strongly worded statement denounces the authorities's verdict to confirm the execution order of the athlete.

The boxer, thirty, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was arrested for being involved in nationwide protests in the year 2019 and indicted of supporting an dissident organization. He has spent 60 months in incarceration, where he has been tortured and held in solitary confinement.

“Sport is intended to inspire optimism, togetherness, and fortitude,” the signatories expressed. “The execution of a champion for his political views is a clear violation on these ideals and a admonition to every athlete who dares to voice opinions.

History of Putting to Death Sports Figures

The letter said that the athlete's circumstances was not an isolated one and underscored the country's history of sentencing to death athletes for their convictions, including a national team leader, skipper of the football side, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In 2020, Navid Afkari, a young Iranian competitor, was also executed.

Additional signatories to the statement comprise a sailing champion, who captained the inaugural female-only team in a round-the-world competition and was the pioneering lady to be awarded a prestigious nautical honor; the former captain of the national squad a sports advocate; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the global tournament.

Arrest and Unjust Proceedings

The athlete was taken into custody in March 2020. The accusations against him entailed “causing deterioration on Earth through arson and damage of public property”. His verdict has been overturned twice but on the fourth of October it was upheld on the latest review. His legal proceedings was condemned as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and bodies.

Appeal to United Nations

The call to prevent the athlete's execution follows a earlier statement to the global human rights chief for human rights, backed by in excess of 100 advocates and organizations, urging measures to prevent the athlete’s death.

Death Penalty Surge

Based on reports, there is an “death penalty surge in the nation, which has attained alarming dimensions”. In 2023, authorities executed at least over 850 people – a nearly half increase on the previous year. Last year, data showed nearly a thousand deaths, marking the peak figure since the year 2015. More than hundreds of people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and dissidents are focus, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 demonstrations. Analysts say the regime have used the capital punishment to stifle dissent, generate fear among the citizenry and strengthen their hold on authority.