Despite severe repression, the ” No to Executions Tuesdays ” campaign entered its 18th consecutive week on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, with political prisoners across Iran continuing their weekly hunger strikes to protest the widespread issuance and enforcement of death sentences. Political prisoners in Evin, Qezel-Hesar, Karaj, Khorramabad, Saqqez, Khoy, Naqadeh, and Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad joined the hunger strike in a powerful show of resistance.
The persistence of the ” No to Execution Tuesdays ” campaign comes amid intensified crackdowns in Qezel-Hesar Prison, which has carried out more executions than any other prison in the past year. Recently, prison authorities escalated their response by transferring Ahmadreza Haeri and Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb—two participants in the campaign—to solitary confinement in Unit 3, where death row prisoners are held.
Ahmadreza Haeri was returned to the general ward of the prison on Sunday, May 26. However, Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb, who was transferred to solitary on the same day, remains isolated from other inmates. Sources close to the families of political prisoners have confirmed that Ragheb, a 64-year-old political prisoner with several health issues, has initiated a hunger strike, sparking concerns about his deteriorating health.
In recent weeks, two other political prisoners, Mohammad and Mehdi Khodakarami, were also placed in solitary confinement in Khorramabad Prison due to their participation in the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign. Both were later transferred to Parsilon Prison in Khorramabad, reflecting the authorities’ increasing efforts to quash dissent among prisoners involved in the campaign.
The “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign persists amid a sharp rise in executions in Iran during the first quarter of the year, with prisoners protesting the regime’s escalated use of capital punishment.
This 17-week-long hunger strike movement continues, advocating for No to Executions.
Additional reports indicate that there has been no recent information on the whereabouts or well-being of political prisoner Mohammad Ashtiani after his transfer to Evin Prison.
