Navratilova, Olympic Champions Demand Iran Halt Execution of Boxer on Death Row
Navratilova, Olympic Champions Demand Iran Halt Execution of Boxer on Death Row
A coalition of 24 athletes, including nine Olympians, has signed an open letter calling on the United Nations, international sports federations, and world governments to intervene to prevent the execution of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a 31-year-old Iranian boxing champion and coach currently held on death row. The letter comes amid what signatories describe as an escalating crackdown on political dissidents inside Iran, during which several young athletes have been executed in recent months. Among the most prominent signatories are tennis legend Martina Navratilova and British Olympic swimming gold medalist Sharron Davies.
Vafaei Sani was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in March 2020 following his participation in nationwide protests that erupted in November 2019, initially triggered by a sharp increase in fuel prices. Iranian authorities charged him with "corruption on earth," a capital offense under the country's legal code. The letter also references two other athletes executed in connection with protests stemming from a January 2026 uprising: Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old national wrestling champion, and Sasan Azadvar Joonaghan, a 21-year-old karate champion, both of whom were put to death following what the letter's signatories characterize as unfair trials and coerced confessions.
The open letter situates the current executions within a longer pattern of state violence against Iranian athletes. It cites the 2020 execution of wrestling champion Navid Afkari, who had participated in peaceful protests in 2018, as well as the execution of Habib Khabiri, described as captain of Iran's national football team, for his affiliation with the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran. The letter further references the execution of Forouzan Abdi, captain of Iran's national women's volleyball team, among the mass killings of political prisoners in 1988. "The world must not stand by while Iran silences its champions," the letter states. "We stand with the victims. We stand for justice."
The letter calls explicitly for immediate action by the United Nations and international sports governing bodies. With Vafaei Sani's execution described as imminent, signatories - five of whom are Iranian - are pressing for intervention before a sentence is carried out. No response from international sports federations or United Nations bodies had been reported in the draft at the time of publication.
