Boxer on death row in Iran vows ‘not to bow before oppression’ after winning rights prize

Political prisoner Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, one of seven athletes at risk of execution in Iran, given prestigious Magnitsky humanitarian award

A boxer and political prisoner on death row in Iran said he will never surrender" as he accepted a prestigious human rights prize on behalf of the generation that is paying the price of freedom with their lives".

Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, an Iranian boxing champion, coach and political prisoner, has been sentenced to death three times and is one of seven athletes at risk of execution in Iran. He was given the Magnitsky award for outstanding human rights activist at a ceremony in London on Thursday night.