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Over 20 Olympic medallists, coaches and additional global sports figures have put their names to a appeal calling for a end to the execution of a boxing champion and coach, who is sentenced to die in the nation.

Escalating Global Anger

Amidst increasing international outrage over the country's increasing application of capital punishment as a means of repression, the forcefully phrased appeal condemns the Iranian regime's decision to maintain the execution order of the athlete.

The athlete, thirty, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for taking part in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and charged of backing an resistance movement. He has spent five years in detention, where he has been tortured and held in isolation.

“Athletics is meant to encourage hope, unity, and fortitude,” the signatories expressed. “The capital punishment of a winner for his political views is a blatant attack on these values and a warning to any competitor who ventures to voice opinions.

Record of Killing Athletes

The statement said that the athlete's circumstances was not unique and emphasized the country's record of putting to death athletes for their views, such as a national team leader, skipper of the national football team, and Fourouzan Abdi, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old Iranian sports titleholder, faced the death penalty.

Additional supporters to the appeal consist of a yachting pioneer, who led the first women's squad in a international sailing event and was the initial female to receive a renowned sailing award; the ex- leader of the soccer side Craig Foster; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the country's selection for the global tournament.

Apprehension and Flawed Legal Process

The athlete was arrested in March 2020. The charges against him comprised “causing deterioration on Earth through arson and ruin of public property”. His sentence has been reversed on two occasions but on the fourth of October it was maintained on the third attempt. His legal proceedings was denounced as “highly unjust” by rights defenders and bodies.

Urging to International Body

The appeal to prevent the athlete's capital punishment follows a earlier appeal to the United Nations official for human rights, endorsed by more than one hundred human rights experts and entities, urging measures to stop the athlete’s capital punishment.

Death Penalty Surge

According to findings, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has achieved shocking levels”. In 2023, officials put to death at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a nearly half surge on 2022. In the prior period, data showed 972 executions, constituting the highest number since the year 2015. Over 800 people have been sentenced so far in 2025.

Dissidents and protesters are targets, particularly in the aftermath of the the year 2022 protests. Experts say the Iranian authorities have employed the death penalty to suppress protest, generate anxiety among the population and tighten their grip on rule.