Iranian boxer on death row Vafaei Sani wins Magnitsky rights prize, vows 'not to bow before oppression'
Iranian boxer Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a political prisoner on death row, has been given the prestigious Magnitsky award for outstanding human rights activist at a ceremony in London on Thursday night.
Vafaei Sani, 31, is an Iranian boxing champion and coach. He is one of seven athletes at risk of execution in Iran and has been sentenced to death three times.
In a written message from Vakilabad prison in north-eastern Iran, he said he accepted the award in the name of all those who, for the 'crime' of aspiring to a free Iran, have been imprisoned, tortured, threatened or sentenced to death — in the name of his comrades in the resistance units and the generation paying the price of freedom with their lives.
He added that the regime demands repentance, televised confessions and surrender, but their answer is clear: they will never surrender and will never submit to humiliation.
Vafaei Sani was arrested in 2020 for taking part in nationwide democracy protests in 2019 and accused of supporting the opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK).
He was convicted of 'corruption on Earth' and sentenced to death for a third time in September 2024 after what Amnesty International called a grossly unfair trial. The supreme court upheld his death sentence on 4 October 2025. Since his arrest he has been tortured and held in solitary confinement for extended periods.
His continued imprisonment has drawn widespread international condemnation from prominent sportspeople, human rights organisations and legal experts, who have called for his immediate release and the annulment of his death sentence.
The Magnitsky awards are named after the Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in Russian police custody after exposing government corruption. They began in 2015 as a way to recognise journalists, politicians and activists in the field of human rights.
Sir William Browder, head of the Magnitsky Justice Foundation and chair of the awards committee, said Vafaei Sani's case was emblematic of the plight of many Iranians who face execution for standing against the regime. He said the most important thing is that Mohammad Javad is still alive, and that is why the award matters — every time the world pays attention, it becomes harder to kill him quietly.
According to the Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights, at least 710 people have been executed in Iran since the beginning of 2026, including 79 political and religious prisoners.
In an October report, the organisation documented at least 106 death sentences against January protest detainees, 35 of whom had already been executed. In Vakilabad prison, where Vafaei Sani is detained, five people have been executed in cases linked to the protests and 15 others are facing death sentences.
The award comes amid growing fears for imprisoned Iranian athletes, who are considered role models in the country. Zohreh Abdollahkhani, founder of Human Rights for Sport, said the situation is really dire, with seven athletes now at risk of execution including Vafaei Sani.
Ali-Sina Mostafavi, a mountaineer, was executed on 14 October after the anti-government protests. His death followed the killing of taekwondo athlete Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi earlier that month, and the mixed martial arts fighter Gholamreza Khani Shakarab, who was hanged in May.
Abdollahkhani said people had been celebrating Vafaei Sani's award, and that even people who do not support his political view are supporting him to be heard. She said she found it inspiring that different political groups are coming together to say no to execution.
In his message, Vafaei Sani said he wanted a free and democratic Iran where people vote freely, women and men are equal, there is no discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, religion or belief, and no one is imprisoned or executed for political opposition. He added that he remains steadfast in his pledge and will not bow before oppression until the people of Iran are free.
