24 Athletes Urge Iran to Halt Boxer Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani's Execution
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 5
24 Athletes Urge Iran to Halt Boxer Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani's Execution
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 5
Summary
Twenty-four athletes, including nine Olympians, signed a letter urging the UN, governments and sports bodies to intervene before Iran executes boxer and coach Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.
Sani, 31, has been on death row after the IRGC arrested him in March 2020 over his role in the 2019 nationwide protests and the judiciary charged him with the capital offense of “corruption on earth.”
The signatories, led by Martina Navratilova and Sharron Davies, said Iran is targeting dissidents under cover of war and cited a mid-March execution spree following unfair trials and coerced confessions.
That appeal points to earlier athlete executions, including 19-year-old wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, 21-year-old karate champion Sasan Azadvar Joonaghan and wrestler Navid Afkari in 2020, arguing Iran has a long record of killing athletes for their beliefs.
With its champion athletes on death row, will FIFA ban Iran from the World Cup like apartheid South Africa?
Is Iran using military conflict as a smokescreen to wage a deadlier, hidden war against its own dissenting citizens?
As Iran's 'digital warfare' hides mass executions, can technology break through its iron curtain before more are killed?
Iran’s Execution Crisis: The Imminent Threat to Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani and the Surge to 1,500+ Hangings in 2025-2026
Overview
As of June 2026, the fate of Iranian boxing champion and political prisoner Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani remains critically uncertain, with reports still unclear on whether his execution has taken place. After Iran’s Supreme Court rejected his request for a retrial on December 17, 2025, all his legal appeals were exhausted, and his case was immediately transferred to the office responsible for implementing sentences. This sequence of events signaled an imminent threat to his life, highlighting the urgent and precarious situation he faces amid Iran’s escalating use of the death penalty against political dissidents.