A growing coalition of athletes, from tennis legend Martina Navratilova to Olympic swimmers and world champions, is turning Iran’s planned execution of boxer Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani into an international test of conscience. What began as a legal case inside a repressive system is now a global sports and human rights flashpoint.

Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a 30 year old boxing champion and coach from Mashhad, has spent more than five years in prison after taking part in Iran’s 2019 anti government protests and allegedly supporting the opposition group MEK. His death sentence, based on charges of “spreading corruption on Earth” and arson, was overturned twice before being reinstated on 4 October, despite widespread criticism from human rights groups over what they describe as a grossly unfair trial and allegations of torture and prolonged solitary confinement. 

That legal process might have stayed buried in Iran’s opaque judiciary if sport had not intervened. More than 20 Olympians, world champions and high profile athletes have now signed an open letter urging Iran to commute the sentence, warning that executing a champion for his political views crosses a line for the global sports community. Signatories reportedly include Navratilova, British swimmer Sharron Davies, round the world sailor Tracy Edwards, former Australian football captain Craig Foster and others tied to athlete advocacy networks. 

Their argument is simple but powerful. Sport is supposed to be a space for excellence, discipline and shared identity across borders. Iran, they say, is turning it into a tool of fear. The letter situates Vafaei Sani’s case in a wider pattern, recalling previous executions of Iranian athletes including wrestler Navid Afkari, whose 2020 hanging after protest related charges sparked global outrage, and earlier cases involving a national football captain and women’s volleyball captain killed for political or ideological reasons. 

That history matters because it shows this is not a one off injustice, it is a method. Amnesty International data cited by campaigners points to a sharp rise in executions in Iran, with at least 853 people put to death in 2023, nearly 1,000 in 2024 and hundreds more already this year, many in cases linked to protest, dissent or drug offences. In that context, an internationally known boxer on death row is both a human being in danger and a symbol the regime can use to project strength or, under pressure, to signal tactical restraint. 

For the athletes pushing back, the stakes go beyond one man. Their letter frames Vafaei Sani’s case as a warning shot to any sports figure who dares to side with protesters or critics of the regime. If a national level boxer can be executed after years in prison and alleged torture, the message to younger athletes is clear, stay silent or pay the price. In authoritarian systems, visibility is both protection and vulnerability, and elite athletes are some of the most visible citizens the state has.

There is also a challenge here for international sports institutions that often talk tough on human rights but move cautiously when it comes to powerful states. Global federations and the International Olympic Committee have been urged to use their leverage, from public condemnation to suspensions and event boycotts, to pressure Iran over this case and its broader use of capital punishment against athletes. So far, responses have been muted compared to similar controversies involving Russia or other high profile sporting nations.

If that silence persists, it risks confirming what many activists already suspect, that the sports world has a two tier approach to human rights, loud when geopolitically convenient, quiet when the costs run higher. For brands, sponsors and broadcasters that trade heavily on the language of values and inspiration, that double standard is becoming harder to defend.

For Iran’s leadership, the decision is equally strategic. Commuting the sentence under international pressure would be presented domestically as a gesture of strength and mercy, but it could also encourage more external campaigns around other prisoners. Pushing ahead with the execution would signal defiance to both internal opponents and foreign critics, while further isolating Tehran at a moment when it already faces sanctions and scrutiny over regional conflicts and its support for armed groups.

For Vafaei Sani and his family, the debate is brutally simple, life or death. Reports suggest he has already endured years of harsh treatment inside prison, including beatings and long stretches in solitary confinement. Campaigners argue that even if the sentence is eventually commuted, the cost in physical and psychological damage has already been immense. 

The broader question is whether athlete led campaigns like this can shift outcomes in tightly controlled states. The Navid Afkari case showed how global pressure could delay but not ultimately prevent an execution. Yet it also showed that regimes do care about reputational costs, especially when they threaten international events, sponsorships and pathways for their own athletes. What happens in Vafaei Sani’s case will be watched closely by athlete unions, human rights groups and governments looking for leverage points in countries where formal diplomacy often stalls.

For fans, the story is a reminder that sport does not float above politics. The same platforms that celebrate medals and records can also amplify demands for basic rights, or expose the regimes that try to crush them. Whether that visibility saves one boxer’s life will say a lot about how much power the global sports community truly has, and how willing it is to use it when the stakes are highest.