🔗 Share this article Elite Athletes Appeal on Iran to Halt Execution of Boxing Star Over 20 Olympic medallists, trainers and additional international athletes have endorsed a letter demanding a halt to the execution of a boxing titleholder and instructor, who is facing execution in the nation. Escalating International Outrage Amid growing international outrage over Iran’s escalating use of the death penalty as a means of oppression, the strongly worded statement condemns the government's decision to maintain the death sentence of the athlete. The athlete, three decades old, from the city in north-east Iran, was detained for participating in nationwide protests in 2019 and accused of aiding an opposition group. He has spent 60 months in prison, where he has been abused and held in solitary confinement. “Athletics is intended to encourage optimism, solidarity, and courage,” the signatories wrote. “The capital punishment of a champion for his opinions is a clear violation on these values and a warning to every athlete who attempts to voice opinions. History of Executing Competitors The letter noted that the boxer's situation was part of a pattern and underscored Iran’s past of executing athletes for their views, including a national team leader, leader of the football side, and a women's sports leader, captain of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, Navid Afkari, a 27-year Iranian sports titleholder, was also executed. Additional endorsers to the letter consist of Tracy Edwards, who led the first female-only team in a round-the-world competition and was the first woman to be awarded a esteemed yachting trophy; the former leader of the soccer side Craig Foster; and a footballer, who was in the national team for the international competition. Arrest and Unjust Proceedings The boxer was detained in early 2020. The allegations against him included “spreading corruption on Earth through fire-setting and ruin of government belongings”. His ruling has been overturned twice but on 4 October it was upheld on the third attempt. His court case was criticized as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and organizations. Appeal to International Body The call to halt the boxer's death sentence is subsequent to a earlier appeal to the United Nations official for human rights, signed by in excess of a hundred human rights experts and groups, calling for intervention to stop the competitor's capital punishment. Execution Crisis As per findings, there is an “execution crisis in Iran, which has attained horrific levels”. In 2023, authorities sentenced at least eight hundred fifty-three people – a forty-eight percent surge on 2022. Last year, records showed nearly a thousand capital punishments, marking the peak figure since 2015. Over 800 people have been put to death so far in the current year. Activists and protesters are victims, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 protests. Experts say the government have utilized the death penalty to stifle dissent, create apprehension among the population and reinforce their control on authority.