Iranian political prisoners in 25 detention facilities staged hunger strikes on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, marking the 43rd week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign. The coordinated action aims to protest the surge in executions, particularly those targeting individuals arrested during recent nationwide protests.
The initiative coincided with the fifth anniversary of the November 2019 protests, during which security forces brutally suppressed public dissent. Activists claim that since early November, over 133 individuals, including women and Afghan nationals, have been executed. Among these, 18 were executed in a single day, November 6.
The hunger strike comes amid the announcement of death sentences for six detainees from the 2022 protests, highlighting systemic flaws in their trials, described as “contradictory, unjust, and opaque.” Furthermore, reports detail severe human rights abuses, including the public execution of a prisoner and the fatal torture of another detainee in East Azerbaijan Province.
In their statement, striking prisoners condemned the Iranian regime’s execution policies as part of broader oppression and urged the international community to intervene. They appealed to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, Ms. Mai Sato, to hold those responsible accountable and push for the immediate cessation of death penalties.
#IranProtests Spread Across Prisons as Political Prisoners Mark 42 Weeks of Hunger #Strikes Against Executionshttps://t.co/70a6Se0cBS
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) November 12, 2024
The prisoners emphasized their resilience despite facing relentless repression, continuing their weekly hunger strikes and chanting “No to Executions” for nearly a year. They called on the Iranian populace and the global community to amplify their voices and support the campaign actively.
Full Statement of the 43rd Week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” Campaign:
Continuation of Hunger Strikes in the 43rd Week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” Campaign in 25 Prisons: Barbaric Executions Mark the Anniversary of the November 2019 Uprising
As we mark the fifth anniversary of the November 2019 protests, the regime continues to escalate its savage execution practices, issuing inhumane sentences, particularly targeting youths arrested during the 2022 protests.
Last week, six defendants in the “Ekbatan Case“—Milad Armon, Alireza Kafaei, Alireza Barmarzpornak, Hossein Nemati, Navid Najaran, and Amir Mohammad Khosh-Eghbal—were sentenced to death following contradictory and unfair trials. Additionally, an anonymous political prisoner arrested during the 2022 protests was sentenced to death by the Fifth Criminal Court in Khorasan Razavi Province.
Since last Tuesday, the oppressive regime has executed 28 individuals, bringing the total since the start of November to over 133. Among them, 18 were executed on November 6 alone. The regime’s atrocities include a public execution and the repeated execution of Ahmad Alizadeh in Qezel Hesar Prison, alongside the fatal torture of Ghafar Akbari in East Azerbaijan Province.
10 October is #WorldDayAgainstTheDeathPenalty. 500+ executions were reportedly carried out in #Iran since Jan '24. This includes the use of #CapitalPunishment against women activists &supporters of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. I join the call to end #DeathPeanlty in this📹 pic.twitter.com/k79W4kZ4ll
— Mai Sato (@drmaisato) October 9, 2024
We also learned that Alireza Razavi, a young man condemned to “corruption and enmity” by Judge Salavati for confronting suppressive forces, was secretly executed in Qezel Hesar Prison 20 days ago without his family’s knowledge.
In the face of intensified oppression and escalating executions, we, the prisoners, persist in our resistance. For 43 consecutive weeks, members of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign in 25 prisons have undertaken hunger strikes, calling out the regime’s inhumane policies and demanding justice.
We call on Ms. Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, to take urgent action to halt the increasing death sentences and hold perpetrators accountable. We also urge all Iranians and international allies to unite in active solidarity with the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign, amplifying the voices of nameless, defenseless prisoners on death row.
Prisons participating in the campaign include Evin (women’s ward, wards 4 and 8), Qezel Hesar (units 3 and 4), Karaj Central, Greater Tehran, Arak, Khorramabad, Asadabad Isfahan, Dastgerd Isfahan, Sheiban Ahvaz, Shiraz Nazam, Bam, Kahnuj, Mashhad, Qaemshahr, Lakan Rasht (men’s and women’s wards), Ardabil, Tabriz, Urmia, Salmas, Khoy, Naqadeh, Saqqez, Baneh, Marivan, and Kamyaran prisons.
“No to Executions Tuesdays” Campaign
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
