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Over two dozen Olympic champions, coaches and other global sports figures have put their names to a letter demanding a halt to the execution of a boxing titleholder and coach, who is sentenced to die in Iran.

Escalating International Outrage

Amid rising global condemnation over Iran’s expanding employment of the death penalty as a instrument of oppression, the strongly worded letter denounces the Iranian regime's ruling to uphold the capital punishment of the boxing champion.

The athlete, thirty, from Mashhad in the northern province, was detained for being involved in nationwide protests in 2019 and charged of supporting an resistance movement. He has passed half a decade in incarceration, where he has been mistreated and kept in solitary confinement.

“Sport is designed to promote hope, solidarity, and fortitude,” the signatories expressed. “The capital punishment of a winner for his political views is a direct assault on these principles and a caution to all sportspeople who ventures to voice opinions.

Record of Executing Athletes

The statement noted that the boxer's situation was part of a pattern and highlighted the nation's record of putting to death athletes for their beliefs, such as a national team leader, skipper of the soccer squad, and Fourouzan Abdi, skipper of the national women’s volleyball team. In the year 2020, a wrestling champion, a 27-year Iranian sports titleholder, was also executed.

Additional signatories to the statement consist of Tracy Edwards, who captained the first women's squad in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to be awarded a prestigious nautical honor; the previous skipper of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a sports figure, who was in the country's selection for the international competition.

Apprehension and Unjust Proceedings

The boxer was taken into custody in March 2020. The accusations against him entailed “promoting decay on Earth through arson and destruction of government belongings”. His verdict has been reversed multiple times but on 4 October it was confirmed on the third attempt. His trial was criticized as “grossly unfair” by human rights activists and organizations.

Appeal to United Nations

The urging to stop the boxer's capital punishment follows a previous letter to the global human rights chief for rights, endorsed by over one hundred human rights experts and groups, demanding intervention to avert the athlete’s execution.

Execution Crisis

Based on data, there is an “execution crisis in the country, which has attained alarming dimensions”. In 2023, officials put to death at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a nearly half rise on the previous year. Last year, statistics showed nearly a thousand executions, constituting the maximum count since two thousand fifteen. Over 800 people have been executed so far in 2025.

Activists and dissidents are targets, notably in the wake of the 2022 protests. Analysts say the Iranian authorities have employed the death penalty to quell protest, create anxiety among the population and strengthen their control on authority.