Iranian Boxer on Death Row Wins Human Rights Award

Iranian boxing champion, coach and political prisoner Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani has been awarded the prestigious Magnitsky human rights prize for outstanding human rights activism. Vafaei Sani, who is 31 years old and currently detained in Vakilabad prison in north-eastern Iran, accepted the award from death row, stating that he will never surrender to oppression.

Arrested in 2020 for participating in nationwide democracy protests in 2019, Vafaei Sani was accused of supporting the opposition group the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran. Amnesty International reported that he faced a grossly unfair trial, leading to his third death sentence in September 2024 for corruption on Earth. The supreme court subsequently upheld his sentence in October 2025. Throughout his detention, he has reportedly experienced torture and extended solitary confinement.

In a written message from prison, Vafaei Sani dedicated the award to others imprisoned, threatened, or sentenced to death for aspiring to a free Iran. He emphasized that the regime demands televised confessions and repentance, but their firm response is that they will never submit to humiliation. The award ceremony took place in London on Thursday night.

Imprisoned Iranian boxer Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani received a prestigious human rights award from death row.

Sir William Browder, chair of the Magnitsky awards committee and head of the Magnitsky Justice Foundation, highlighted that Vafaei Sani's case represents the plight of numerous Iranians facing execution for opposing the regime. Browder noted that the ongoing international attention makes it harder for authorities to execute him quietly.

Fears remain high for imprisoned athletes in Iran, with human rights advocates warning that seven athletes are currently at risk of execution. Recent months have seen the executions of mountaineer Ali-Sina Mostafavi, taekwondo athlete Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi, and mixed martial arts fighter Gholamreza Khani Shakarab. Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights reported hundreds of executions in Iran since the beginning of the year, including numerous political and religious prisoners.

Why it matters

This recognition shines an international spotlight on the precarious situation of detained athletes and political prisoners in Iran, demonstrating how global attention can bring visibility to individuals facing capital punishment. The case has united diverse groups within the country in support of basic rights and opposition to executions.