The life of Iranian political prisoner and national boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani is in grave danger after authorities in Iran upheld his death sentence for the third time.
Vafaei Sani, a 30-year-old boxing coach from Mashhad, is currently held in Vakilabad Prison, one of Iran’s most notorious detention facilities. His case has drawn renewed concern from human rights activists and Iranian opposition circles, especially after a new message attributed to him was recently released from prison.
Vafaei Sani was arrested in January 2020 following his participation in nationwide anti-government protests. According to reports, he was subjected to 65 days of physical and psychological torture in intelligence detention centers in an attempt to extract forced confessions against him.
He was accused of supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, also known as the PMOI or MEK. His supporters say the charges against him are politically motivated and rooted in the Iranian authorities’ long-standing hostility toward organized opposition forces.
The case has gone through multiple judicial stages. Iran’s Supreme Court reportedly overturned his death sentence twice, first in late 2022 and again in mid-2024, citing legal flaws in the case. Despite this, lower courts later reinstated the sentence under pressure from security agencies, according to activists familiar with the case.
The confirmation of the death sentence for a third time has intensified fears that the Iranian judiciary may be preparing to carry out the execution as part of a broader campaign of intimidation against political prisoners and protesters.
In a message reportedly sent from prison, Vafaei Sani appealed for his voice to be heard. He said that his previous messages had not been published and urged that his latest message be shared with the world at what he described as one of the most sensitive moments of his life.
In the letter, he paid tribute to his “brothers and sisters” in the Iranian Resistance, describing them as symbols of hope, sacrifice, and the struggle for freedom. He said they had taught him that life must be lived in defense of truth, justice, and the oppressed.
“We will never surrender,” he wrote, adding that political prisoners and freedom seekers had proven to their jailers that the strongest weapon in their hands was “faith and righteousness.”
Vafaei Sani also warned that the Iranian people, long deprived of their most basic rights, now had no choice but to rise and stand together in defense of their dignity, future, and freedom.
His message reflects the growing atmosphere of defiance among political prisoners in Iran, many of whom face heavy sentences, torture, and execution for their alleged links to opposition movements or participation in protests.
Human rights observers argue that Vafaei Sani’s case is not only about one political prisoner, but also about the wider use of the death penalty as a tool of repression by the Iranian authorities. They say executions and death sentences are being used to silence dissent, intimidate society, and prevent new waves of protest.
The case also comes amid growing international attention to Iran’s human rights record and the role of political prisoners in the country’s struggle for democratic change.
It is also expected to resonate at the major Iranian rally scheduled for June 20 in Paris, where thousands of Iranians and supporters of the Iranian Resistance are set to gather to call for an end to executions, repression, and dictatorship in Iran. For activists, the rally will serve as an international platform to amplify the voices of political prisoners such as Vafaei Sani and to underline the demand for a democratic republic in Iran.
For many Iranian activists, Vafaei Sani has become a symbol of resistance against a judicial system that, they argue, operates under the influence of intelligence and security agencies rather than the rule of law.
His final message from prison ended with a call for freedom and dignity for the Iranian people, and with a declaration of support for a democratic republic in Iran.
As fears grow over the possible implementation of his death sentence, activists are calling on the international community, human rights organizations, and democratic governments to act urgently to save his life and hold the Iranian authorities accountable.
The case of Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani once again highlights the urgent need to confront Iran’s machinery of repression and to support the Iranian people’s demand for freedom, justice, and democratic change.
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