Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani, a 30-year-old national boxing silver medallist, is at imminent risk of execution after Iran's Supreme Court denied his retrial request and his case was forwarded for implementation. Rights groups and athletes, including the World Boxing Council and Martina Navratilova, have appealed for clemency, citing allegations of torture and forced confessions. An unexpected visit by his mother at Vakilabad prison has raised fears the execution could be near, amid reports of a wider increase in executions in Iran.
Iranian Boxer Faces Imminent Execution After Supreme Court Denies Retrial
Sports stars and the World Boxing Council have called for Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani's life to be spared (Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)(Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/AFP)
An Iranian boxer sentenced to death on charges of belonging to a banned organisation faces imminent execution after Iran's Supreme Court rejected his request for a retrial, rights groups and exiled opposition sources said.
Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani, 30, a national championship silver medallist, was arrested in 2020 over alleged involvement in protests the previous year. He was convicted of the capital offence of "corruption on earth" and sentenced to death after being found guilty of membership in the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK), an organisation outlawed in Iran.
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Vafaei-Sani was informed this week that his retrial request was denied by the Supreme Court and that his file has been forwarded to the office responsible for implementing sentences.
HRANA also reported that his mother was "unexpectedly" allowed to visit him at Vakilabad prison in Mashhad. Activists note that in Iran, relatives are sometimes permitted a final visit shortly before an execution, raising concerns that the visit could indicate an imminent carrying out of the sentence.
"His life is now in grave danger," said the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the political arm associated with the MEK, which added that the visit by his mother "could signal his imminent execution."
Rights groups and prominent sports figures have appealed for clemency. The World Boxing Council condemned the sentence, with WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman Saldivar saying executing an athlete would violate "the fundamental values of sport and human dignity." More than 20 athletes, including former tennis champion Martina Navratilova and British swimmer Sharron Davies, signed a joint appeal in November calling on governments to intervene.
Claims of mistreatment in custody have been raised by activists: MEK spokesman Shahin Ghobadi told AFP that Vafaei-Sani was "affiliated" with the group and that authorities had, over the last five years, "using extensive torture, tried hard to force him to renounce" his support. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Norway-based Iran Human Rights, also said the boxer was at "imminent risk of execution" and alleged he had been "tortured to extract forced confessions." These allegations are reported by rights groups and have not been independently verified by state media, which did not mention the case on Wednesday.
Activists say Iran's authorities have stepped up a wider crackdown since the June war with Israel, citing a sharp rise in executions. Iran Human Rights (IHR) reports at least 1,426 people were hanged in Iran up to the end of November this year.
Context: The case highlights international concern over the use of the death penalty in politically charged trials, the treatment of detainees accused of ties to banned groups, and the role of international sports bodies and athletes in urging diplomatic intervention.
