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More than twenty Olympic medal winners, mentors and other international athletes have endorsed a appeal demanding a end to the execution of a boxing titleholder and instructor, who is on death row in the country.

Increasing Global Anger

Amidst rising international outrage over Iran’s escalating use of executions as a tool of oppression, the powerfully expressed appeal censures the Iranian regime's verdict to confirm the death sentence of the athlete.

The athlete, three decades old, from the city in north-east Iran, was detained for being involved in national uprisings in two thousand nineteen and accused of aiding an dissident organization. He has endured 60 months in detention, where he has been abused and kept in solitary confinement.

“Athletics is intended to encourage faith, togetherness, and fortitude,” the signatories stated. “The death penalty of a champion for his political views is a clear violation on these values and a admonition to any competitor who attempts to speak out.

History of Killing Sports Figures

The statement pointed out that the athlete's case was part of a pattern and emphasized the nation's record of executing competitors for their views, for example Habib Khabiri, leader of the soccer squad, and a women's sports leader, leader of the female volleyball side. In the year 2020, an athlete, a 27-year national competitor, was also executed.

Additional supporters to the appeal consist of Tracy Edwards, who led the pioneering women's squad in a global yacht race and was the initial female to receive a renowned sailing award; the former leader of the national squad an athlete; and Bahram Mavaddat, who was in the national team for the 1978 World Cup.

Arrest and Flawed Legal Process

The athlete was arrested in the spring of 2020. The allegations against him comprised “promoting decay on Earth through incendiarism and ruin of public property”. His verdict has been annulled multiple times but on 4 October it was upheld on the third occasion. His court case was condemned as “deeply biased” by advocates and organizations.

Call to United Nations

The urging to stop the athlete's execution comes after a 2023 appeal to the United Nations official for freedoms, backed by more than one hundred human rights experts and groups, urging measures to prevent the competitor's capital punishment.

Execution Crisis

Based on reports, there is an “death penalty surge in Iran, which has reached alarming levels”. In 2023, officials sentenced at least 853 people – a forty-eight percent surge on the previous year. Last year, records showed nearly a thousand deaths, marking the highest number since 2015. Over hundreds of people have been executed so far in 2025.

Political prisoners and dissidents are targets, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 demonstrations. Analysts say the regime have employed the capital punishment to quell dissent, create anxiety among the population and strengthen their control on power.