Iranian boxer on death row wins human rights award as athletes push to save his life
Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani was named the 2026 Magnitsky Award winner for Outstanding Human Rights Activist, according to the award organizers.The honor is scheduled to be presented on his behalf Thursday in London, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an opposition coalition.British lawmaker Bob Blackman, chair of the British Committee for Iran Freedom, is listed as the award’s presenter.Vafaei Sani, a boxer and coach from Mashhad, was arrested in 2020 following the November 2019 anti-government protests.
Authorities accused him of supporting the opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, also known as the PMOI or MEK, according to the NCRI.KEITH KELLOGG TELLS IRANIAN DISSIDENTS THE 'WINDOW IS OPEN' TO FORCE REGIME CHANGE IN TEHRANIranian boxer Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani (Courtesy of Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran)His prosecution involved allegations of arson and destruction of public property under the capital charge of "corruption on earth," according to IranWire.Rights advocates have condemned the proceedings as unfair.The award organizers describe his case as a "symbol of the persecution of peaceful dissent" in Iran.
They say he has endured physical and psychological torture, lengthy solitary confinement and repeated threats of execution.Iran’s Supreme Court twice overturned his death sentence before a Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death again in September 2024.The Supreme Court upheld that third sentence in October 2025, according to the organizers and the Sport & Rights Alliance.However, his lawyer, Babak Paknia, announced a stay of execution in December 2025, IranWire reported.
That order paused the execution without overturning his conviction.IranWire reported last month that Human Rights for Sports continued to list him among athletes facing capital punishment.IRANIAN AND ISRAELI ATHLETES REACT TO MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING TO END US-IRAN WARHis case has drawn support from some of the ...