Iranian boxing champion at imminent risk of execution as retrial request rejected

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 3 min read 100% complete by Sarah JohnsonDecember 19, 2025 at 10:45 AM

AI Summary

medium article 3 min

Iranian boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, imprisoned since 2020 for participating in 2019 democracy protests and allegedly supporting the MEK, faces imminent execution. His request for a retrial was rejected by Iran's supreme court on December 15th. Vafaei Sani was convicted of "corruption on Earth" and sentenced to death for the third time in September 2024, a sentence upheld by the supreme court in October. Amnesty International and other organizations, including over 20 Olympic athletes, are calling for Iran to halt the execution and quash the conviction, citing an unfair trial and the charge's violation of international law. Campaigners believe a recent visit from his mother signals the execution is near.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

World Boxing Council (WBC) 40% National Council of Resistance of Iran 50% Amnesty International ×260% People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) ×270% Mashhad 80% Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani ×580% Iran ×490%

Keywords

execution 100% mohammad javad vafaei sani 90% iran 90% death sentence 90% unfair trial 80% boxing champion 80% political prisoner 70% human rights 70% torture 60% people’s mojahedin organization of iran (mek) 60%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.80

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

execution mohammad javad vafaei sani iran death sentence unfair trial boxing champion political prisoner human rights torture people’s mojahedin organization of iran (mek)

Explore Full Topic Graph