On Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the 44th weekly campaign of “No to Executions Tuesdays” marked a significant act of defiance in Iran, with hunger strikes underway in 25 prisons across the country. The campaign, launched earlier this year, protests the regime’s increasing use of executions as a tool of repression.
The latest statement from the campaign highlighted alarming developments, including the death sentences for two political prisoners, Mehran Hasanzadeh and Hamid Abdollahzadeh, in Urmia Central Prison. Both individuals were detained during the 2022 protests. The statement also condemned the mass death sentences for six defendants in the “Ekbatan case” as part of the regime’s strategy to instill fear and prevent further uprisings.
According to the statement, these death sentences align with an infamous 2022 leaked audio recording in which regime officials allegedly quoted Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei instructing the judiciary to execute “at least 70-80 detainees” from nationwide protests. The recording reportedly revealed orders to maximize public impact by framing executions as “retribution” cases.
The statement further noted the grim escalation of executions, with at least 25 individuals executed in the past week alone. Last month, the regime executed over 140 people, leaving hundreds of families in mourning. These executions, according to the campaign, are not aimed at justice but serve purely political purposes to spread terror and suppress dissent.
Week 44: Hunger strikes in 25 Iranian prisons persist as part of the 'No to Executions Tuesdays' campaign. Prisoners protest the regime's widespread use of the death penalty to instill fear #StopExecutionsInIran#NoDeathPenalty#NoDeathPenaltyTuesdays https://t.co/NAIHNBu2Bh
— IRAN HRM (@IranHrm) November 26, 2024
The campaign also highlighted the plight of four Arab political prisoners transferred to solitary confinement in Ahvaz’s Sheiban Prison over 40 days ago. The men’s fate remains unknown, prompting warnings about their lives being in grave danger.
The statement called on human rights advocates, political activists, and international organizations to intensify efforts to stop the wave of executions in Iran, urging global solidarity to halt the regime’s machinery of oppression.
Full Statement of the 44th “No to Executions Tuesday” Campaign follows:
“Coinciding with the 71st condemnation of the Iranian regime for human rights violations by the United Nations General Assembly, the ‘No to Executions Tuesday’ campaign has entered its 44th week, spanning 25 prisons.
The mass death sentences in the Ekbatan case reflect the oppressive Iranian regime’s strategy of instilling fear. At a time when Iranian society faces severe economic crises that the regime has failed to address, the state sees increased executions as its sole solution to prevent widespread protests. Daily executions across the country underline this grim reality. According to reports, at least 25 individuals were executed in the past week alone. Last month, with over 140 executions, the regime left hundreds of families grieving. These rulings are not aimed at deterring crime but serve political goals to create fear and suppress society.
Recently, two Kurdish political prisoners, Mehran Hasanzadeh and Hamid Abdullahzadeh, were sentenced to death in Urmia Central Prison. Both were arrested during the 2022 protests. These sentences come as the United Nations condemns the Iranian regime for human rights violations for the 71st time.
We cannot forget the leaked audio from 2022, during the height of public protests, in which senior officials cited Khamenei’s directive for the judiciary to execute at least 70-80 detained protesters. These executions were to be publicly framed as ‘retribution’ cases to maximize fear. The death sentences for Mehran Hasanzadeh and the six defendants in the Ekbatan case follow this strategy, intended to deter further protests from Iran’s desperate population.
#Gothenburg, #Sweden—November 19, 2024: #MEK Supporters Rally in Support of ‘No to Executions Tuesdays’ Campaign Against #Iran’s Regime #StopExecutionsInIran #NoImpunity4Mullahs #FreePoliticalPrisonersInIran #FreeIran2024 https://t.co/01JmsO8sCl
— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) November 21, 2024
Moreover, the fate of four Arab prisoners in Sheiban Prison—Adnan Ghabishavi, Ali Mojadam, Moein Ghanfari, and Mohammadreza Moghadam—remains unknown after 40 days in solitary confinement. These men are in grave danger, and their status must not be forgotten.
The ‘No to Executions Tuesday’ campaign condemns all executions, unjust trials, and blatant human rights violations in Iran. We issue a serious warning about the escalation of executions and urge all global institutions and individuals—human rights activists, political leaders, and civil society groups—to increase their efforts to save the lives of prisoners on death row. We continue to emphasize unity and collective solidarity to stop this machinery of death.
On Tuesday, November 26, 2024, in 25 prisons across Iran, participants of the ‘No to Executions Tuesday’ campaign entered their 44th consecutive week of hunger strikes to protest the regime’s use of executions.
The campaign is active in the following prisons: Evin (women’s ward, wards 4 and 8), Ghezel Hesar (units 3 and 4), Karaj Central Prison, Greater Tehran Prison, Arak Prison, Khorramabad Prison, Isfahan Asadabad Prison, Sheiban Ahvaz Prison, Shiraz Military Prison, 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.
The No to Executions Tuesdays Campaign
Tuesday, November 26, 2024″
