🔗 Share this article

More than 20 Olympic champions, mentors and other global sports figures have endorsed a letter calling for a halt to the capital punishment of a boxing titleholder and instructor, who is sentenced to die in the country.

Increasing International Outrage

Amidst increasing international outrage over the nation's expanding employment of capital punishment as a tool of oppression, the powerfully expressed appeal censures the government's decision to confirm the death sentence of the athlete.

The boxer, 30, from the city in north-east Iran, was detained for being involved in countrywide demonstrations in the year 2019 and accused of supporting an opposition group. He has passed half a decade in detention, where he has been tortured and kept in solitary confinement.

“Competition is intended to promote faith, solidarity, and bravery,” the supporters expressed. “The execution of a titleholder for his opinions is a direct assault on these ideals and a admonition to every athlete who ventures to express dissent.

History of Executing Athletes

The letter said that the athlete's situation was not an isolated one and emphasized Iran’s past of sentencing to death athletes for their views, for example a national team leader, skipper of the national football team, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In the year 2020, a wrestling champion, a young Iranian wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Additional signatories to the letter consist of a sailing champion, who led the first all-female crew in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to earn a esteemed yachting trophy; the former captain of the soccer side a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the national team for the global tournament.

Arrest and Unjust Proceedings

The athlete was arrested in March 2020. The charges against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through arson and ruin of public property”. His ruling has been overturned on two occasions but on the fourth of October it was upheld on the third attempt. His trial was criticized as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and organizations.

Urging to International Body

The urging to stop the boxer's capital punishment is subsequent to a earlier statement to the United Nations official for rights, endorsed by in excess of one hundred advocates and entities, calling for measures to prevent the competitor's execution.

Capital Punishment Escalation

Based on reports, there is an “capital punishment escalation in the nation, which has attained shocking dimensions”. In 2023, authorities put to death at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a forty-eight percent surge on the previous year. Last year, data showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, representing the highest number since 2015. Over 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and protesters are focus, especially in the wake of the the year 2022 demonstrations. Experts say the government have used the death penalty to quell opposition, create fear among the citizenry and strengthen their hold on rule.