Prisoners’ Hunger Strike Continues into 15th Week of ‘No to Executions Tuesdays’ Campaign
Prisoners on strike in Qezel-Hesar, Evin, Markazi Karaj, Khorramabad, Khoy and Naqadeh prisons
- The 15th Hunger Strike of Prisoners on Tuesdays of No to Death
- Khosrow Besharat, a Sunni political prisoner of conscience, transferred to be executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison
On Tuesday, May 7, 2024, prisoners continued their hunger strike for the fifteenth consecutive week as part of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign against the death penalty.
Since April 21, at least 80 prisoners sentenced to death have been executed in prisons across the country. Last week, political prisoner of conscience Anwar Khezri was executed in silence after enduring 15 years of imprisonment and torture.
In response, striking prisoners participating in the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign in Evin, Qezel-Hesar, Khorramabad, Khoy, Naqadeh, and other prisons continued their hunger strike on Tuesday, May 7, for the fifteenth week in a row.
The prisoners protested these executions, including the hanging of Anwar Khezri, and issued a warning about the imminent execution of political prisoner of conscience Khosrow Besharat, who has been transferred to solitary confinement in Qezel-Hesar Prison to await execution. They called for solidarity to prevent this execution.
The striking prisoners also emphasized that the issuance of death sentences for both anonymous individuals and political prisoners like Mahmoud Mehrabi reflects the regime’s deliberate strategy to suppress and intimidate society. They reiterated the importance of collective unity to halt the regime’s execution machine.
· Saeed Masouri’s article on “No to the Death Penalty”
· Mahmoud Mehrabi sentenced to death
In the past week, in addition to the execution of political prisoner of conscience Anwar Khezri, his colleague Khosrow Besharat has been transferred to solitary confinement after enduring 15 years of imprisonment and now awaits execution.
The hunger strike began on Tuesday, January 29, 2024, as a protest against the execution of prisoners in Qezel-Hesar Prison. It has continued uninterrupted every Tuesday since then. Currently, prisoners from Evin, Qezel-Hesar, Karaj Markazi, Khorramabad Markazi, Naqadeh, Saqqez, Mashhad, and other prisons participate in this collective protest.
On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, Saeed Masouri issued a message regarding the hunger strike by prisoners opposing the death penalty:
“Alongside the rocket attack on Israel, the wave of arrests, repression of women (under the guise of chastity and hijab), and escalating attacks on prisons and executions continue unabated.”
He concluded: “The survival of the Supreme Leader regime depends on the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) to shield it from popular anger and protests. Meanwhile, the IRGC relies on war and crisis to justify its existence and maintain its power. In essence, the Supreme Leader regime needs the IRGC for protection against the people’s outrage, and the IRGC needs foreign enemies, war, and crises to validate its role. Thus, the Supreme Leader regime fosters such wars to obscure its ongoing war against the Iranian people and ensure its own survival.”
In another part of his message, he wrote: “Isn’t it clear that the true ‘Resistance’ and ‘Axis of Resistance’ are now in the streets of Iranian cities, embodied by our heroic women and girls? Through their courage and defiance, they have become the genuine interpreters of life. They have shown us, and the world, that a life in which we cannot be true to ourselves is nothing more than forced, imposed servitude—a life in name only, a life of slavery, not vitality. Perhaps, to achieve a truly human life, one must persist, resist, and fight.”
The political prisoner, who has endured over 24 years of incarceration, also referred to the ” No to Execution Tuesdays ” campaign, stating: “Executions, whether political or non-political, are solely intended to intimidate the people.”
