On a Thursday night in London, a message written in a cell in north-eastern Iran was read aloud to people who had gathered to honour human rights work. Its author, a boxer and coach who has been sentenced to death three times, refused in those words to surrender, placing his own fate inside a larger struggle that has claimed many lives across his country. The moment reflects an old human pattern, in which those who are silenced at home find their voices carried across borders by people willing to listen.
Iranian boxer on death row vows never to surrender as he accepts Magnitsky rights award
A 31-year-old boxer and coach faces execution after torture and prolonged solitary confinement, one of seven athletes at risk of execution in Iran.
"Every time the world pays attention, it becomes harder to kill him quietly."
Mark
Why does a prize matter for someone sitting on death row?
Mimi
Sir William Browder's argument is that attention makes it harder to kill someone quietly. The point is visibility, not the trophy.
Luke
Worth noting that's his belief, not a demonstrated effect. Nothing in the reporting shows pressure has delayed an execution in this case.
Mark
His sentence has been upheld, though. Where does that leave him?
Mimi
The supreme court upheld it on 4 October 2025. He has been sentenced three times, the last in September 2024.
Mark
The article mentions other athletes already executed.
Mimi
Yes: a mountaineer on 14 October, a taekwondo athlete earlier that month, and an MMA fighter in May. That's why the seven at risk are taken seriously.
Luke
The 710 executions and the 106 protest death sentences come from Hengaw, one rights group. The article doesn't say they've been independently confirmed.
Mark
And the charges against him?
Mimi
Supporting the MEK and "corruption on Earth". Amnesty calls his trial grossly unfair, but we only have the rights-group account here.
Luke
Also, his message came from prison in writing. We don't know the conditions under which it was sent, and the piece doesn't say.
Le Pouls
- A 31-year-old boxing champion, condemned to death three times, received a human rights prize while still confined in Vakilabad prison.
- His written message, read in London, defied demands for repentance and televised confessions, drawing a hard line between him and the authorities.
- Rights groups count him among seven athletes at risk of execution, and the wider toll is climbing fast, with at least 710 executions recorded this year.
- Advocates are pressing for his release and an annulled sentence, but his death penalty has already been upheld, so the window for change feels narrow.
On a Thursday night in London, a message written in a cell in north-eastern Iran was read aloud to people who had gathered to honour human rights work. Its author, a boxer and coach who has been sentenced to death three times, refused in those words to surrender, placing his own fate inside a larger struggle that has claimed many lives across his country. The moment reflects an old human pattern, in which those who are silenced at home find their voices carried across borders by people willing to listen.
On Thursday night in London, a written message from a prison cell in north-eastern Iran was read out at the Magnitsky awards. Its author, Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a boxing champion and coach, was accepting the prize for outstanding human rights activism. He wrote that he received it on behalf of the generation paying for freedom with their lives, and that he would never surrender.
Vafaei Sani is 31 and has been sentenced to death three times. He was arrested in 2020 for joining the 2019 protests and accused of supporting the MEK opposition group. Amnesty International calls his trial grossly unfair, and Iran's supreme court upheld his sentence in October 2025. He has been tortured and held in long periods of solitary confinement. In his message he also spoke to the authorities directly, saying he would not submit to humiliation or televised confession.
The Magnitsky awards, named for the Russian lawyer who died in custody after exposing corruption, were presented by Sir William Browder, who said Vafaei Sani's case was emblematic. "Most important, Mohammad Javad is still alive," he said. "Every time the world pays attention, it becomes harder to kill him quietly."
The wider figures are grim. Hengaw counts at least 710 executions in Iran this year, 79 of them political and religious prisoners. Seven athletes are at risk, and several have already been put to death since the protests. Zohreh Abdollahkhani of Human Rights for Sport said people across political lines have united against these executions, and that gives her hope.
Vafaei Sani's own hope is for a free and democratic Iran, where people vote freely, women and men are equal, and no one is jailed or executed for opposition. The open question now is whether this attention can change anything for a man whose sentence has already been confirmed.
On Thursday night in London, a written message from a prison cell in north-eastern Iran was read out at the Magnitsky awards. Its author, Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a boxing champion and coach, was accepting the prize for outstanding human rights activist. He wrote that he was receiving it on behalf of "the generation that is paying the price of freedom with their lives", and that he would never surrender.
Vafaei Sani is 31 and has been sentenced to death three times. He is held in Vakilabad prison, and rights groups count him among seven athletes in Iran who are at risk of execution. In his message he said he accepted the award in the name of everyone imprisoned, tortured, threatened or sentenced to death for aspiring to a free Iran, including his comrades in what he called the resistance units.
He also addressed the authorities directly. The regime, he wrote, demands repentance, televised confessions and surrender, and his answer is that he will never surrender and will never submit to humiliation.
He was arrested in 2020 for taking part in the nationwide democracy protests of 2019, and was accused of supporting an opposition group, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, known as the MEK. In September 2024 he was convicted of "corruption on Earth" and handed his third death sentence. Amnesty International says that followed a grossly unfair trial. Iran's supreme court upheld the sentence on 4 October 2025. Since his arrest he has been tortured and held in solitary confinement for long periods. Sportspeople, human rights organisations and legal experts have condemned his imprisonment and called for his release and for the sentence to be annulled.
The Magnitsky awards are named for Sergei Magnitsky, the Russian lawyer who died in police custody after exposing government corruption. Begun in 2015, they honour journalists, politicians and activists working on human rights. Sir William Browder, who heads the Magnitsky Justice Foundation and chairs the awards committee, called the case emblematic of many Iranians facing execution for opposing the regime. "Most important, Mohammad Javad is still alive," he said. "Every time the world pays attention, it becomes harder to kill him quietly."
The wider figures are grim. The Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights reports at least 710 executions in Iran since the start of 2026, 79 of them political and religious prisoners. Its October report documented at least 106 death sentences against people detained in the January protests, and 35 of those had already been carried out. At Vakilabad, five people have been executed over the protests and 15 more face death sentences.
Fears for imprisoned athletes, who are regarded as role models in Iran, are growing. Zohreh Abdollahkhani, founder of Human Rights for Sport, said the situation is dire, with seven athletes at risk. The mountaineer Ali-Sina Mostafavi was executed on 14 October after the anti-government protests. Earlier that month Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi, a taekwondo athlete, was killed, and the mixed martial arts fighter Gholamreza Khani Shakarab was hanged in May.
Abdollahkhani said people have been celebrating the award, including some who do not share his politics. She found it inspiring that different political groups are uniting against execution. Vafaei Sani described his own hope as a free and democratic Iran where people vote freely, women and men are equal, there is no discrimination over ethnicity, religion or belief, and no one is jailed or executed for political opposition. What to watch now is whether the attention the prize brings changes anything for a man whose death sentence has already been upheld.
Citations marquantes
We will never surrender; we will never submit to humiliation.— Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, written message from Vakilabad prison
Most important, Mohammad Javad is still alive.— Sir William Browder, chair of the Magnitsky awards committee
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