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EXCLUSIVE: A coalition of athletes penned a letter condemning the Iranian regime for its death sentence of boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, Fox News Digital has learned.
The signees include women’s sports activist Riley Gaines, women’s tennis legend Martina Navratilova, U.S. Olympic gold medalist swimmer Nancy Hogshead, UK Olympic medalist swimmer Sharron Davies, U.S. Olympian cyclist Inga Thompson, U.S. ultrarunner Carilyn Johnson and others.
The letter calls for the United Nations, international sports federations, and world governments to intervene to prevent Vafaei Sani’s sentence.
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“We, athletes and sports figures from around the world, strongly condemn the Iranian regime’s decision on 4 October 2025 to uphold the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a 30-year-old boxing champion and coach from Mashhad,” the letter writes.
“Mohammad Javad has spent more than five years in prison under torture and solitary confinement for taking part in the 2019 pro-democracy protests and supporting the democratic opposition PMOI (MEK). His case is not an isolated tragedy.
“Iran has a grim history of executing athletes for their beliefs, including the captain of the national football team, Habib Khabiri, and the captain of the national women’s volleyball team, Forouzan Abdi, the latter executed alongside 30,000 political prisoners during the 1988 massacre. In 2020, Iranian wrestling champion Navid Afkari was executed after participating in peaceful protests in 2018.
“In recent months, the Iranian authorities have executed numerous other protesters on similar bogus charges with total impunity. These political executions are a callous attempt by the authorities to frighten and silence an increasingly restive population no longer willing to accept their corrupt and oppressive rule.
“Sport is meant to inspire hope, unity, and courage. The execution of a champion for his political views is a direct assault on these values and a warning to every athlete who dares to speak out.”
IRAN’S EXECUTION RATE TOPS 1,000 THIS YEAR AS DEATH ROW INMATES LAUNCH HUNGER STRIKE
Iranian worshipers hold up their hands as signs of unity with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during an anti-Israeli rally to condemn Israel’s attacks on Iran, in downtown Tehran, Iran, on June 20, 2025. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The boxer was arrested in March 2020 in Mashhad for political activities and support for the Iranian dissent organization, the People’s Mojahedin Organization. Vafaei Sani previously participated in 2019 protests against the regime.
Iran’s Supreme Court initially overturned his death sentence and ordered a retrial, but then the Revolutionary Court reissued the death sentence without new evidence. The second sentence was also overturned by the Supreme Court, but then the Mashhad Revolutionary Court issued a death sentence for the third time. In the third appeal stage, the Supreme Court has now upheld this verdict.
Now, as his case draws global awareness, it has brought together two unlikely allies in Gaines and Navratilova in speaking out in support of Vafaei Sani.
Gaines is a staunch conservative activist and supporter of President Donald Trump, while Navratilova has a reputation for expressing left-leaning opinions on social media, and is often critical of Trump and other GOP figures.
However, one other area where both Gaines and Navratilova align is on the issue of biological males in women’s sports. Gaines and Navratilova, both former women’s athletes, have expressed their belief in protecting women’s sports from the inclusion of transgender athletes.
But now the two figures are aligned on at least one other issue.
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Martina Navratilova and Riley Gaines spoke at an X Spaces Event hosted by the “Our Bodies Our Sports” organization. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images for Laureus/Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The Iranian regime was described as being on an “unprecedented execution spree” by the United Nations. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said the Islamic Republic of Iran has carried out more than 1,000 executions since the start of the year.
With as many as nine executions each day at the time of their report, OHCHR said that victims were primarily accused of murder and drug-related crimes.
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