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More than twenty Olympic medal winners, mentors and further international athletes have signed a letter calling for a stop to the death penalty of a boxing champion and instructor, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Increasing Global Anger

Amidst increasing worldwide anger over the nation's escalating use of capital punishment as a instrument of oppression, the strongly worded appeal denounces the government's verdict to confirm the execution order of the boxing champion.

The boxer, three decades old, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, was detained for taking part in national uprisings in the year 2019 and indicted of aiding an opposition group. He has passed 60 months in detention, where he has been mistreated and confined in seclusion.

“Athletics is meant to inspire optimism, togetherness, and bravery,” the signatories wrote. “The death penalty of a winner for his beliefs is a clear violation on these principles and a warning to all sportspeople who dares to voice opinions.

History of Executing Competitors

The letter noted that the athlete's situation was not an isolated one and emphasized the country's record of executing athletes for their convictions, including Habib Khabiri, skipper of the national football team, and a women's sports leader, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, Navid Afkari, a young national wrestling champion, was also executed.

Other supporters to the appeal include a sailing champion, who led the inaugural all-female crew in a international sailing event and was the pioneering lady to receive a renowned nautical honor; the ex- leader of the Australian football team a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the Iranian squad for the 1978 World Cup.

Detention and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was taken into custody in early 2020. The accusations against him comprised “spreading corruption on Earth through arson and destruction of state assets”. His verdict has been reversed twice but on the fourth of October it was upheld on the third attempt. His trial was condemned as “highly unjust” by advocates and bodies.

Call to UN

The call to stop the athlete's death sentence comes after a 2023 statement to the UN high commissioner for rights, signed by more than one hundred advocates and entities, urging action to stop the athlete’s capital punishment.

Capital Punishment Escalation

Based on data, there is an “capital punishment escalation in Iran, which has achieved shocking proportions”. In the year 2023, officials put to death at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a nearly half increase on 2022. The year before, statistics showed 972 deaths, marking the maximum count since the year 2015. More than 800 people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and dissidents are focus, particularly in the aftermath of the the year 2022 uprising. Experts say the Iranian authorities have employed the death penalty to quell opposition, create fear among the population and strengthen their hold on rule.