27-year-old Iranian boxing champion gets controversially sentenced to death by the IRGC

Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani was arrested and sentenced to death after protesting about petrol price inflation.

27-year-old Iranian boxing champion gets controversially sentenced to death by the IRGC

Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani (image credit- IranWire, MMA PL)

The north-eastern city of Iran is home to a well-known boxing champion, Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani. He won the provincial championship at the elementary and adult levels. Subsequently, Sani, who is currently 27 years old, was arrested in November 2021 for his role in protests across the country. In addition, he was detained in Mashhad for participating in protests over the government’s decision to increase the price of gasoline.

Sani was also part of the protests over the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane by Iranian forces. At the time of his arrest, he was 23 years old, and Sani was detained by IRGC agents and subjected to 65 days of physical and psychological abuse. Babak Paknia, a lawyer for the boxer, revealed several proceedings from the court. Furthermore, he stated that on July 31, a court upheld the death sentence handed down by Branch 4 of Mashhad’s Revolutionary Court.

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According to Paknia, Branch 4 gave him the death sentence at first instance. The Supreme Court later overturned the sentence and remitted the case to the Revolutionary Court for a retrial. On Jan. 9, 2022, the Mashhad Branch 4 of the Revolutionary Court accused the boxing champion of “corruption on earth,” according to the Iran Human Rights Center.

The boxer was charged with “incitement and intentional destruction of government buildings,” as well as “links with the Popular Front of Iran,” an opposition group, according to the Human Rights Center. Furthermore, Sani denied the charges but was sentenced to death by Judge Hadi Mansouri.

UN Human rights involvement in Vafaei Sani’s case

Mansouri has been sanctioned by the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada for his role in human rights abuses. Furthermore, the judge is also known for his death sentence for a protestor called Mojidreza Rahnavard. Subsequently, Mansouri also sentenced political activist Fatemeh Sepehri to 18 years in prison.

Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani
Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani (image credit- IranWire, MMA PL)

The above instances have only caused the death sentence of Sani to get more attention. Several human rights activists and organizations have pleaded with the UN rights committee to intervene. More people were executed in Iran each year than in any other country except for China. Hence, according to human rights groups, including London-based Amnesty International, Iran wrongfully expels its citizens.

Similarly, the rate of executions in 2023 has been relatively fast. Furthermore, Iran Human Rights reported nearly 370 executions in the first three months of 2023. While the UN has not intervened in Sani’s case, they have begun investigating it.

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