The nationwide hunger strike campaign known as “No to Execution Tuesdays” reached its 131st consecutive week on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, expanding to 59 facilities across Iran as prisoners protest a surging wave of state executions and systemic repression.
In an official statement released on July 28, members of the campaign honored the anniversary of the executions of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hasani, two political prisoners and campaign members who were executed a year prior. Rebuking the violence of state security forces, the statement highlighted that on July 26, 2025, “these two political prisoners were beaten during a prison guard raid on the political prisoners’ ward in Ghezel Hesar Prison and transferred to be executed.” The campaign added that during the raid, “other political prisoners in this ward were subjected to the most brutal attack, and their families still remain uninformed about their burial sites.”
Surging Executions and New Death Sentences
The campaign condemned the Iranian regime’s continued reliance on capital punishment to quell domestic dissent, pointing out that since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 2026), at least 303 people have been executed.
Breaking: Iran has publicly executed political prisoners Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi and Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani in Isfahan. Both were arrested during the January 2026 uprising and sentenced to death in the Alikhani Square case.
Public executions are being used to intimidate… pic.twitter.com/kR5H4OsZWP— IRAN HRM (@IranHrm) July 28, 2026
According to the statement, “the oligarchic state of Velayat-e Faqih, ignoring protests against executions, continues to set up gallows daily and take the lives of citizens.” Among those recently executed was political prisoner Mehdi Khanki, who was hanged “in total secrecy and without the right to a fair trial,” alongside dozens of prisoners convicted on general charges.
The statement also warned of a fresh wave of capital sentences targeting political dissidents, confirming that death sentences have recently been issued for Issa Chari, Amir-Hassan Akbari-Monfared, Sepehr Amirzadeh, Akbar Arabzadeh, and Mehdi Arabzadeh.
International Reaction and Ongoing Strikes
The escalating executions have drawn sharp international condemnation. Over the past week, the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission issued an urgent warning demanding a halt to the impending executions of prisoners linked to the “Alikhani Square” case in Isfahan. Simultaneously, the European Union imposed sanctions on five Iranian judges directly involved in issuing death sentences and ordering inhumane punishments.
‘No to Executions Tuesdays’ campaign marks 131st week in 59 prisons amid surging death sentences https://t.co/eYdvSrnaZ6
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 28, 2026
Inside the prison system, resistance continues to grow. An ongoing strike by roughly 1,500 prisoners in Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison has entered its second week. The campaign statement noted that “no prison authority or official in this executioner regime has answered their demands.”
Expressing solidarity with the striking detainees, the campaign affirmed that it “stands alongside the prisoners of Unit 2, supports their rightful demands and strike, and calls upon conscious minds and the international community to be the voice of these prisoners as well as all those sentenced to death.”
Nationwide Reach
The 131st week of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” hunger strike involved inmates across 59 prisons nationwide, including Evin Prison (men’s and women’s wards), Ghezel Hesar Prison (Units 2, 3, and 4), Greater Tehran Prison, Qarchak Prison, and central facilities in major cities including Shiraz, Isfahan, Tabriz, Ahvaz, Mashhad, Rasht, and Zahedan.