Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani, a 30-year-old Iranian boxer sentenced to death after being found guilty of “corruption on earth“, is at risk of imminent execution.
Non-governmental organisations such as HRANA and the opposition in exile have warned that Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani, who was sentenced to death for alleged membership of an illegal organisation (People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran -MEK-), faces imminent execution after his request for a retrial was rejected.
His life is now in grave danger
The World Boxing Council (WBC) unsuccessfully asked Iran to spare the life of Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani, who was a runner-up in Iran’s boxing championship.
The boxer’s mother received an “unexpected permit” to visit him
Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani’s request for a retrial was rejected by the Iranian Supreme Court.
HRANA reported that at the same time, the boxer’s mother was “unexpectedly granted” permission to visit him in prison. It is common in Iran for relatives to be allowed a final visit with those condemned when the date of their execution is approaching.
“His life is now in grave danger,” reacted the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the political arm of the MEK.
Boxer Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani sentenced to death three times
Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani was arrested in March 2020 and was accused of setting fire to a government building during the 2019 anti-government protests in Iran, a charge the Iranian boxing champion denied.
“Incitement and deliberate destruction of government buildings” and “connections with the People’s Mojahedin Organization” were the charges brought against Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani.
In September 2024, Iranwire.com reported that Babak Paknia, the lawyer of the boxer who is being held in Vakilabad prison in Mashha, said that Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani had been sentenced to death for the third time.
“Despite the annulment of the previous verdict by the Supreme Court, the majority opinion of the investigating judges (consultants of Section 3 of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad), in opposition to the judges of the Supreme Court, has again handed down a death sentence for ‘corruption on Earth’. This sentence can be appealed,” Paknia published on X (Twitter).
‘Iran Human Rights Monitor’ reported that two judges of Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad, Hossein Yazdankhah and Saadi Makan, were responsible for handing down the first two death sentences against Vafae
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