The “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign, a powerful movement opposing Iran’s relentless use of the death penalty, has entered its 72nd week, with prisoners across 47 facilities staging hunger strikes to protest the escalating wave of executions. This week, inmates in Ahar Prison joined the campaign, amplifying the call for an immediate halt to death sentences and urging global action against Iran’s execution-driven regime.
A Surge in Executions Amid Repression
Iran’s authoritarian regime has intensified its use of the death penalty, executing over 90 individuals since May 22, 2025. On June 2 alone, 16 people were executed, including eight at Ghezel Hesar Prison. The campaign condemns these acts as part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent and maintain political control amid severe economic and social crises. The regime’s tactics, including targeting Afghan nationals, have drawn particular outrage, with a sharp rise in executions of these defenseless individuals who lack access to fair legal representation.
With Ahar Prison joining, 47 prisons now participate in the “No to Execution Tuesdays” hunger strike. On June 10, prisoners across Iran marked week 72 of protest against surging executions—over 90 in just 3 weeks, including 16 in a single day. https://t.co/ETvnyC4BRu
— IRAN HRM (@IranHrm) June 10, 2025
The “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign denounces these executions as violations of the right to life, a core principle enshrined in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The campaign argues that no emergency, cultural, or political justification can legitimize the death penalty, particularly when imposed through Iran’s opaque judicial processes under the mullahs’ regime. Defendants are routinely denied independent legal counsel, coerced into confessions, and subjected to trials that fail to meet international fair trial standards, rendering these executions tantamount to extrajudicial killings.
A Call for Global Action
The campaign urgently calls on human rights organizations and the international community to address Iran’s escalating use of the death penalty. “Executions, when used to intimidate society or suppress dissent, are incompatible with justice and proportionality,” the campaign stated, emphasizing that the death penalty violates the inherent dignity of every human being. The group demands an immediate end to the issuance and enforcement of death sentences and invites global citizens to join the movement to defend the right to life.
This week’s hunger strikes span 47 prisons, including Evin Prison (women’s ward, wards 4 and 8), Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj Central Prison, Adelabad Prison in Shiraz, Zahedan Prison, and the newly joined Ahar Prison, among others. Prisoners are using these strikes to protest the regime’s execution machinery and to amplify their demand for justice and freedom.
Our May 2025 Monthly Report reveals one of the bloodiest months in recent years:
🔻175 executions
🔻7 women
🔻2 juvenile offenders
🔻1 public executionhttps://t.co/JUrt7khYzf @CoEHumanRights @EP_HumanRights @CdnHumanRights— IRAN HRM (@IranHrm) June 5, 2025
A Transnational Fight for Justice
The “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign underscores that defending the right to life is a collective, transnational responsibility. “Until the noose of execution is removed from Iran’s judicial system, the foundation for freedom and justice will remain absent,” the campaign declared. By uniting prisoners across dozens of facilities, the movement sends a powerful message of resistance against a regime that uses executions to silence opposition.
As the campaign continues to grow, it remains a beacon of hope for those fighting for human rights in Iran. The hunger strikers and their supporters call on the world to stand with them in opposing the death penalty and building a future where justice and dignity prevail.
For more information on how to support the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign, human rights advocates are encouraged to raise awareness and pressure international bodies to act against Iran’s ongoing human rights violations.