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More than 20 Olympic champions, mentors and further international athletes have signed a appeal calling for a end to the death penalty of a boxing titleholder and instructor, who is on death row in Iran.

Escalating Worldwide Condemnation

Amid growing global condemnation over the nation's escalating use of executions as a means of oppression, the powerfully expressed letter condemns the government's verdict to confirm the capital punishment of the boxing champion.

The boxer, thirty, from the city in the northeastern region, was taken into custody for participating in countrywide demonstrations in two thousand nineteen and charged of backing an resistance movement. He has endured 60 months in incarceration, where he has been abused and confined in seclusion.

“Athletics is intended to encourage hope, togetherness, and fortitude,” the endorsers expressed. “The capital punishment of a champion for his political views is a clear violation on these principles and a caution to every athlete who ventures to voice opinions.

Pattern of Killing Athletes

The letter said that the athlete's situation was part of a pattern and highlighted the nation's past of sentencing to death competitors for their convictions, including a football captain, captain of the national football team, and Fourouzan Abdi, leader of the female volleyball side. In two thousand twenty, an athlete, a 27-year national wrestling champion, faced the death penalty.

Other supporters to the appeal consist of a sailing champion, who led the first female-only team in a international sailing event and was the first woman to earn a renowned nautical honor; the ex- captain of the soccer side a sports advocate; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the 1978 World Cup.

Arrest and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was arrested in March 2020. The charges against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through incendiarism and damage of government belongings”. His sentence has been reversed twice but on October 4 it was confirmed on the third attempt. His trial was denounced as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and groups.

Urging to International Body

The call to halt the boxer's capital punishment is subsequent to a 2023 statement to the UN high commissioner for rights, backed by more than a hundred human rights experts and groups, urging action to prevent the competitor's execution.

Execution Crisis

According to data, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has attained horrific proportions”. In 2023, the government put to death at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a 48% increase on 2022. In the prior period, statistics showed nine hundred seventy-two deaths, marking the maximum count since 2015. Over 800 people have been put to death so far in 2025.

Activists and opponents are focus, especially in the aftermath of the 2022's protests. Analysts say the regime have employed the death penalty to stifle protest, generate anxiety among the public and strengthen their grip on power.