🔗 Share this article Sports Champions Urge on Iranian Authorities to Halt Execution of Boxing Champion In excess of 20 Olympic medal winners, coaches and further international athletes have put their names to a letter urging a halt to the execution of a boxing titleholder and coach, who is on death row in the country. Growing Worldwide Condemnation Amidst increasing worldwide anger over Iran’s increasing application of executions as a tool of repression, the powerfully expressed statement denounces the Iranian regime's verdict to confirm the capital punishment of the athlete. The boxer, three decades old, from Mashhad in the northeastern region, was arrested for participating in national uprisings in the year 2019 and indicted of backing an resistance movement. He has spent five years in detention, where he has been mistreated and confined in isolation. “Athletics is designed to inspire faith, solidarity, and courage,” the supporters wrote. “The capital punishment of a champion for his beliefs is a clear violation on these principles and a caution to any competitor who ventures to speak out. Pattern of Killing Athletes The statement said that the boxer's situation was not an isolated one and highlighted the country's past of executing competitors for their views, including a national team leader, skipper of the national football team, and a volleyball captain, leader of the women's volleyball squad. In 2020, an athlete, a 27-year-old Iranian sports titleholder, was put to death. Further signatories to the appeal comprise Tracy Edwards, who led the inaugural female-only team in a international sailing event and was the first woman to receive a prestigious nautical honor; the ex- captain of the soccer side a sports advocate; and a footballer, who was in the country's selection for the international competition. Detention and Unjust Proceedings The boxer was arrested in early 2020. The allegations against him included “causing deterioration on Earth through fire-setting and ruin of state assets”. His sentence has been overturned twice but on October 4 it was maintained on the third attempt. His court case was criticized as “deeply biased” by rights defenders and bodies. Call to International Body The urging to halt the boxer's execution is subsequent to a previous letter to the global human rights chief for human rights, endorsed by more than 100 rights specialists and groups, demanding measures to prevent the athlete’s execution. Death Penalty Surge As per reports, there is an “execution crisis in the nation, which has achieved alarming proportions”. In 2023, officials executed at least over 850 people – a forty-eight percent increase on 2022. Last year, data showed nine hundred seventy-two deaths, representing the maximum count since the year 2015. In excess of eight hundred people have been executed so far in the current year. Activists and protesters are focus, notably in the wake of the the year 2022 uprising. Analysts say the government have used the executions to quell dissent, instil apprehension among the population and reinforce their control on authority.