Qezel-Hesar Political Prisoners Continue Hunger Strike Against Mass Executions
Political prisoners in Qezel-Hesar Prison will enter the fourth consecutive week of their hunger strike as part of the “Black Tuesdays” protest against mass executions. Informed sources close to the prisoners confirmed that on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, inmates will once again refuse food to denounce the issuance and execution of death sentences.
This protest movement has garnered support from political prisoners across Iran. In prisons such as Evin, Khorramabad, Shiraz, Karaj, and Saqqez, detainees have pledged solidarity with Qezel-Hesar inmates. Notable participants include Yashar Tabrizi, Reza Akbari-Monfared, Nasrollah Fallahi, Ali Moezzi, Mohammad Ashtiani Iraqi, Ali Kazemi, Mohammad Sadegh Garmaroudi, Mehdi Bayrami, Mohammad Khodakarami, Mehdi Khodakarami, Behrouz Ehsani, Khosro Rahnama, Kamran Rezaeifar, Reza Rezaei, Hossein Shahsavari, Masoud Moeini, Shahab Nadali, Ali Bahiraei, Arash Moradi, and Yasin Mokhtari.
These prisoners have announced their commitment to hunger striking every Tuesday in solidarity with Qezel-Hesar inmates and as a unified stand against the regime’s widespread use of the death penalty.
This growing nationwide resistance highlights the determination of political prisoners to confront the regime’s policies and call for an end to executions.
- Report on Prisoners’ Hunger Strike Continues on “ No to Execution Tuesdays ” and Opposition to the Death Penalty Continues
- Prisoners’ hunger strike continues on Black Tuesdays
§ Fourth round of hunger strike in the country’s prisons
§ Charge of Moharebeh for 4 of the detainees in the “Ekbatan Town” case
§ The prisoners’ hunger strike is in its fourth round, while three days ago, lawyer Payam Derafshan announced the trial of four citizens arrested during last year’s protests in the so-called “Ekbatan Town” case, namely Mehdi Hosseini, Mehdi Imani, Navid Najjaran, and Milad Armon, on charges of enmity against God and participation in premeditated murder. The lawyer of these detained citizens referred to the deterioration of their mental state in recent weeks. in Unit 3 of Qezel-Hesar Prison.
§ In recent days, the issuance of the death sentence for Sunni Kurdish cleric Mamusta Mohammad Khezrnejad on charges of “corruption on earth” in the city of Bukan in Kurdistan province, the issuance of the death sentence for Shahab Nadali, a political prisoner on charges of rebellion in Evin Prison, as well as the issuance of death sentences for four Baluch prisoners, Ghani Shahbakhsh, Soleiman Shahbakhsh, Abdolrahim Ghanbarzehi (Mir Baluchzehi), and Eidou Shahbakhsh in Qezel-Hesar Prison, have made headlines in recent days.
§ 10 trade union and labor organizations support the “ No to Execution Tuesdays ” campaign
§ With the recent intensification of death sentence issuances and the ongoing hunger strike by political prisoners as part of the ” No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign, the Coordination Council of Teachers’ Associations announced its support last week. The council stated that 10 trade unions and labor organizations have officially endorsed the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign and its central demand of abolishing the death penalty.
§ In an interview, a source close to the families of political prisoners in Qezel-Hesar Prison discussed the ongoing hunger strike and the fourth week of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign against death sentences. The source highlighted the recent issuance of death sentences for four Baluch prisoners—Ghani Shahbakhsh, Soleiman Shahbakhsh, Abdolrahim Ghanbarzehi (Mir Baluchzehi), and Eidou Shahbakhsh—who are held in Unit 3 of Qezel-Hesar Prison under extremely inhumane conditions, confined to a very limited space.
§ The source also noted that several political prisoners in Unit 4 have voiced their protests to prison authorities. They condemned the continued mistreatment of inmates in Unit 3, the issuance and execution of death sentences targeting both political and non-political prisoners, and the role of prison authorities in perpetuating these injustices.
§ According to the informed source, with the increase in the number of executions in prisons, some officials and various prison staff who have been involved in the dialogue and protest of political prisoners “expressed their dissatisfaction with this trend and expressed their displeasure with the wave of executions.”
