The 30th week of the hunger strike by political prisoners in Iran, part of the “No to Executions on Tuesdays” campaign, took place on Tuesday, August 20th, 2024. This campaign, which began in February, has seen hundreds of prisoners from 18 prisons across the country joining in to protest against the death penalty, which they regard as an inhumane and irreversible form of punishment.
The “No to Executions on Tuesdays” campaign has grown steadily, with more and more prisoners participating each week. The campaign’s aim is clear: to oppose the death penalty as an inhumane form of punishment and to call for its abolition. This stance is independent of the charges, motives, or beliefs of those condemned to death, focusing solely on the inhumanity of capital punishment itself.
The continuation and expansion of this campaign occur against the backdrop of the Iranian judiciary and security forces intensifying their use of the death penalty. Since the beginning of the Persian year 1403, which started on March 21, 2024, more than 310 individuals, including 16 women, have been executed in Iran. The regime has further accelerated its execution rate, with 118 people hanged in August alone.
#Iranian Political Prisoners Continue Their “No to Executions Tuesdays” Hunger Strike Amidst Rising Government Repressionhttps://t.co/mUNi8XRa08
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 13, 2024
The regime’s extensive use of the death penalty in recent times suggests a systematic approach as if those in power believe that the solution to all crises lies in the gallows. In this context, the death penalty is seen as a form of “hard revenge” against the people of Iran.
Among those affected by this brutal crackdown are women, who have long been the driving force for fundamental changes in Iran. The execution of 16 female prisoners in the past five months, coupled with widespread arrests and violence against women in the streets under the pretext of enforcing the government’s mandatory hijab policy, highlights the regime’s violent confrontation with women. This oppressive approach has even led to deaths and serious health consequences for many women and girls in Iran.
The Iranian regime does not execute groups of 100 or 120 people at once. Instead, it executes 120 individuals, each in isolation, leaving thousands of other prisoners in solitary confinement, awaiting their turn for execution. As prisoners in Evin and Lakan Rasht prisons have rightly pointed out, stopping this killing machine requires collective and nationwide actions and protests. Since the death penalty is a social issue implemented by the government, confronting it also requires a social response, which can only be achieved through unity and collective action.
Former Norwegian MP @larsrise highlights that both political and ordinary prisoners in #Iran abstained from voting despite promises of privileges. He assures @Mojahedineng prisoners that their perseverance and #hope for freedom inspire the world. pic.twitter.com/TAaUjFibRT
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 15, 2024
The necessity for unity and solidarity in opposing the death penalty has been emphasized repeatedly by the prisoners participating in the “No to Executions on Tuesdays” campaign. They have called on everyone to rise however they can and support this resistance that has started within the prison walls.
According to reliable sources, the prisoners on hunger strike in the “No to Executions on Tuesdays” campaign have continued their protest for the 30th consecutive week in various prisons across the country. These include Evin Prison (Women’s Ward, Ward 4, Ward 6, and Ward 8), Ghezel Hesar Prison (Units 3 and 4), Karaj Central Prison, Khorramabad Prison, Shiraz Military Prison, Mashhad Prison, Qaem Shahr Prison, Lakan Rasht Prison (Women’s and Men’s Wards), Tabriz Prison, Ardabil Prison, Khoy Prison, Naqadeh Prison, Urmia Prison, Salmas Prison, Saqqez Prison, Baneh Prison, Mariwan Prison, and Kamyaran Prison. The strikers have appealed to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Mrs. Mai Sato, to pay special attention to these inhumane actions, particularly the executions in Iran, and to work tirelessly to stop them and end this brutal situation in the country.
Elisabetta Zamparutti, a former member of the Italian Parliament and an official of the human rights organization ‘Hands Off Cain,’ announced on August 19th her solidarity with the ‘No to Executions on Tuesdays’ campaign. She stated on her Facebook and Instagram accounts that the number of executions in Iran is continuously and dramatically increasing and that nothing changes in Iran under the rule of the Supreme Leader, regardless of who holds the presidency. Consequently, she pledged to join the hunger strike every Tuesday alongside the Iranian prisoners to protest against the executions.
