The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign marked its 40th week with heightened acts of defiance across Iran, as more prisoners joined the collective resistance against the Iranian government’s escalating use of capital punishment. A new addition this week, Kahnuj Prison, brings the total number of participating prisons to 24, as prisoners in various facilities initiated hunger strikes to demand an end to the intensified execution spree.
Prisoners from facilities including Evin (Women’s Ward, Wards 4 and 8), Ghezel Hesar (Units 3 and 4), Karaj Central, Greater Tehran, and other prisons across Iran, are staging protests as a unified network, creating a potent symbol of resistance against the Iranian judiciary’s draconian policies. The solidarity displayed across these prisons highlights a growing movement among inmates who, despite isolation and harsh conditions, are voicing their collective opposition to state-sanctioned executions.
In a recently released statement, protesting prisoners voiced alarm at the increasing pace of executions. Statistics from the first week of Aban, which began on October 22, reveal that 27 individuals were executed in just three days, averaging nearly seven deaths per day. This brings the total number of executions since the start of the Persian calendar year to approximately 567, with a staggering 150 deaths recorded in the previous month alone.
According to the statement, his isolation aimed to obscure the torture and human rights abuses he suffered during his imprisonment.The fate of four Baluchi political prisoners—Eido Shahbakhsh, Abdolghani Shahbakhsh, Abdolrahim Qanbarzehi, and Soleiman Shahbakhsh—now hangs precariously as their cases were sent to Tehran’s Security Prosecutor’s Office for potential execution.
These prisoners, detained under extreme conditions for 16 months in Ghezel Hesar’s secure ward, represent the growing threat against political detainees within the prison system. Despite the ongoing threat of executions, the prisoners’ protests have inspired action beyond prison walls. Families of death row inmates resumed protests this week in front of the Iranian parliament, echoing the detainees’ demand for justice and an end to the death penalty.
Protest gathering of the families of prisoners sentenced to death in front of the Judiciary in Tehran and Bandar Abbas#StopExecutionsInIran #قیام_جواب_اعدام#نه_به_اعدام pic.twitter.com/5FjhJwbGee
— Navid (@Navid2019) May 18, 2023
The Iranian government’s surge in executions highlights broader efforts to quash dissent amid growing public discontent. A recent report indicates that executions in Mehr (September 22–October 21) increased by 85% compared to the same period last year, underscoring the regime’s reliance on capital punishment as a means of control.
As global awareness of these resistance efforts spreads, human rights advocates urge the international community to support the Iranian people and call for accountability, pressing the regime to halt this alarming surge in executions and uphold human rights standards.
MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTu
