In a powerful show of defiance, the 41st week of the “Tuesdays Against Executions” campaign saw participation from political prisoners across 24 prisons in Iran. This week’s statement from the prisoners highlighted a grim reality: “In this regime of executions, repression, and the death penalty are continuously increasing. Since the beginning of November, nearly 56 prisoners have been executed, with at least 23 hanged in the last week alone.” The statement condemned the execution of Arvin Ghahremani, a Jewish prisoner, calling his trial “unjust and opaque.”
The prisoners also raised alarms about the recent trial of eight young detainees from the 2022 protests, known as the Ekbatan case. Held behind closed doors, their severe charges could lead to execution, further fueling fears of imminent death sentences. The statement also drew attention to the plight of four Baluch prisoners—Eido Shahbakhsh, Abdolghani Shahbakhsh, Abdolrahim Ghanbarzehi, and Soleiman Shahbakhsh—whose death sentences have been confirmed by the Supreme Court and sent to the execution office. “At any moment, they could be sent to the gallows,” the statement warned.
The campaign, which now spans prisons including Evin (women’s ward and wards 4 and 8), Ghezel Hesar, Karaj Central, Tehran’s Great Prison, Arak, Khorramabad, Isfahan’s Asadabad, Ahvaz Sheiban, Shiraz Military Prison, Bam, Kahnouj, Mashhad, Qaemshahr, Rasht (men’s and women’s wards), Ardabil, Tabriz, Urmia, Salmas, Khoy, Naqadeh, Saqqez, Baneh, Marivan, and Kamyaran, has garnered both domestic and international attention. The prisoners’ call to action urges all human rights activists and global voices to amplify the plight of these unnamed and faceless individuals facing death sentences and to “expose the architects and perpetrators of the execution machine before the conscience of the world.”
#Iran News:
Prisoners in 24 Facilities Hold 40th Week of ‘No to Executions’ Campaignhttps://t.co/hR7jaw2SXs— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) October 29, 2024
Supporting this campaign, Elisabetta Zamparutti, former Italian MP and co-founder of Hands off Cain, has actively backed the hunger strike of Iranian death row prisoners for weeks.
Last week, she wrote on her Facebook: “Today is #checkuptuesday #tuesdayagainstexecutions in Iran. And like every Tuesday, I support the hunger strike of the Iranian death row prisoners. But this is the 40th Tuesday of the hunger strike since the initiative started earlier this year. One horrible year. Since the beginning of the year, at least 636 prisoners have been hanged in Iran. About half of these past months under Pezeskian presidency. From September 20 to October 20, about 150 prisoners were executed. The Iranian regime is a tyrant and is increasing with more cruelty against the Iranian people. In the hunger strike against executions, I also support a change in the regime. A change that can happen even in a nonviolent way by choosing to support the opposition movements of the regime like the one led by Maryam Rajavi which has a 10-point program that collides with the very own principles of the rule of law!”
The statement from the political prisoners concludes with a rallying cry: only through collective resistance and the tireless work of activists can the machinery of executions be confronted and its enablers held accountable.
The statement from the prisoners in the “Tuesdays Against Executions” campaign is as follows:
41st Week of the ‘Tuesdays Against Executions’ Campaign in 24 Different Prisons
Warning About the Defendants in the Ekbatan Case Held Behind Closed Doors
In this regime of executions, repression, and the death penalty continue to escalate, and unfortunately, this inhumane approach against citizens and prisoners persists as a standard practice. Since the beginning of November, nearly 56 prisoners have been executed, and at least 23 have been hanged in the past week alone. Among them was a Jewish prisoner named Arvin Ghahremani, who was executed in Dizelabad Prison in Kermanshah after being condemned in a highly ambiguous and unjust trial.
Yesterday, we also witnessed the trial of eight young detainees from the 2022 protests, known as the Ekbatan case, held behind closed doors. Due to the severe charges against them, there is a fear that they may face execution.
The ‘Tuesdays Against Executions’ campaign, now in its 41st week, has spread to 24 prisons across the country. In recent weeks, citizens inside and outside Iran have held various gatherings in support of the campaign, showing the steadfast determination of the Iranian people to abolish the inhumane death penalty.
It should be noted, as mentioned in last week’s report, that four Baluch compatriots named Eido Shahbakhsh, Abdolghani Shahbakhsh, Abdolrahim Ghanbarzehi, and Soleiman Shahbakhsh, who are part of the campaign, have had their death sentences confirmed by the Supreme Court and referred to the First Branch of the Execution Office of District 33 Prosecutor’s Office. Their execution could be carried out at any moment.
Given the ever-increasing pace of the execution machine, it is crucial for all activists in various fields to voice their opposition to the death penalty in Iran more loudly than ever before and to expose and hold accountable the perpetrators and commanders of this killing apparatus before the conscience of the world. This goal will only be possible through the collective resistance and action of free people and all political, human rights, labor, and civil activists for whom stopping these actions is vital and essential.
The ‘Tuesdays Against Executions’ campaign in its 41st week will hold a strike on Tuesday, November 6, across 24 different prisons.
These prisons include: Evin Prison (Women’s Ward, Wards 4 and 8), Ghezel Hesar Prison (Units 3 and 4), Karaj Central Prison, Greater Tehran Prison, Arak Prison, Khorramabad Prison, Asadabad Prison in Isfahan, Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz, Military Prison in Shiraz, Bam Prison, Kahnouj Prison, Mashhad Prison, Qaemshahr Prison, Rasht Prison (Men’s and Women’s Wards), Ardabil Prison, Tabriz Prison, Urmia Prison, Salmas Prison, Khoy Prison, Naqadeh Prison, Saqqez Prison, Baneh Prison, Marivan Prison, and Kamyaran Prison.
“Tuesdays Against Executions’ Campaign”
Tuesday, November 6, 2024
