Eight Political-Prisoners of Conscience Unit 3 of Ghezel Hesar Prison Join the “No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign with a Hunger Strike
On Tuesday, June 4, 2024, the hunger strike of prisoners in the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign continues into its 19th week.
In the last few months, following the wave of executions in which the winning blade rested on the necks of ordinary prisoners, on January 28, 2024, a group of ordinary prisoners in Qezelhesar described their conditions and asked all prisoners in prisons across the country for solidarity.
These deadly conditions of ordinary prisoners were supported by a large number of political prisoners in various prisons. From their point of view, it was quite clear that the execution of political prisoners was a prelude to more executions among ordinary prisoners, and that the execution of ordinary prisoners was a means of suppressing and intimidating all segments of society and covering up political executions.
Therefore, the ordinary prisoners’ requests for help from were immediately answered first by the political prisoners of Qezelhesar and then by the other prisoners.
While the ordinary prisoners of Hall 7 of Unit 1 of Qezelhesar also reported a large number of executions (10-20 executions per week) in a few minutes of video last week, the conditions of prisons and executions became more objective.
On the other hand, in recent months, the striking prisoners had intermittently warned against execution of Sunni prisoners. Unfortunately, Qassem Absteh, Davoud Abdollahi, Ayub Karimi, Farhad Salimi, Anwar Khezri, and Khosro Besharat were executed, and the only survivor of this case, Kamran Sheikheh, who is at risk of execution, was recently transferred from Ghezel Hesar Prison to Mahabad Prison for unknown reasons.
In the 19th week of the campaign of Sunni political prisoners of conscience and their fellow prisoners who died in Unit 3 of Qezelhesar Prison, they announced in a message to the ” No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign.
The names of these Sunni prisoners of conscience are as follows:
Fereydoun Zakeri Nasab, Salahuddin Ziaei, Eidou Shahbakhsh, Soleiman Shahbakhsh, Abdolghani Shahbakhsh, Mohammad Saleh Ziadallah, Abdollah Varia, Abdolkarim Ghanbarzehi
It should be noted that they are held in inhumane conditions in a hall known as “suites” (solitary confinement on death row). In particular, four of them, namely Mr. Eidou Shahbakhsh, Mr. Abdolghani Shahbakhsh, Mr. Soleiman Shahbakhsh, and Mr. Abdolkarim Ghanbarzehi, are currently on death row.
Currently, prisoners in Qezelhesar, Evin, Markazi Karaj, Khorramabad, Khoy, and Naqadeh prisons are on hunger strike for the 19th week in this campaign on “No to Execution Tuesdays”. The striking prisoners are demanding attention to the situation of these prisoners.
