On Tuesday, August 13, 2024, the weekly hunger strike of prisoners in the “No to Death Tuesdays” Campaign continued into its 29th week.
Prisoners from 18 prisons, including Evin Prison (Wards 4, 6, and 8), Ghezel Hesar Prison (Units 3 and 4), Karaj Central Prison, Khorramabad Prison, Nizam Shiraz Prison, Khoy Prison, Naqadeh Prison, Tabriz Prison, Urmia Prison, Ardabil Prison, Salmas Prison, Saqqez Prison, Baneh Prison, Marivan Prison, Kamyaran Prison, Lakan Rasht Prison, Ghaemshahr Prison, and Mashhad Prison, participated in this hunger strike.
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In a statement issued on this occasion, the prisoners declared:
The hunger strike continues into the 29th week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” Campaign.
Since February 2024, when the “No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign began, it has served as a protest against the wave of executions of ordinary prisoners, followed by the execution of young Kurdish and Sunni compatriots. This campaign further expanded to include the political executions of Mohammad Ghobadlou and Farhad Salimi.
In these 29 weeks, there has not been a single week in which we have not witnessed the government’s use of this medieval punishment in prisons. However, after the 1988 executioner’s helicopter crash and the “Appointments” show, the Islamic Republic’s repressive organization reduced the number of executions as much as possible. Despite this, we, the prisoners of the ” No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign warned that this reduction was merely a temporary measure and would lead to a massive wave of executions of prisoners.
Regrettably, the rulers of this religious tyranny and the agents of the repressive apparatus, much like thieves who take advantage of chaotic circumstances to steal from the people, have seized the opportunity presented by the Olympic Games in Paris and the global attention surrounding it. Since last Tuesday, over 45 of our compatriots have been executed—29 of them on a single day—while 26 more were arrested in Qezel Hesar Prison, setting a disgraceful record for “state murder” and executions in recent years.
This record-breaking escalation in executions over the past few weeks has led to the sentencing of dozens of political prisoners to death after vague trials, with charges of “rebellion and corruption on Earth.”
Among the most recent cases is the issuance of death sentences for six Sunni political prisoners of conscience by the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad, placing their lives in grave danger.
This all occurred following the swearing-in of government officials, who claimed, “Iran is the safest country in the Middle East.” In this context, the death penalty is what they consider “security.”
Condemnation of violation of fundamental rights
We, the prisoners of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign, strongly condemn the violation of the fundamental rights of our fellow prisoners across the country and the taking of their “right to life.” We especially remember Reza Rasai, whose living memory fuels our resistance. We express our deepest sympathy with the families of those affected and assert that resisting this “barbarism” is our right. We have witnessed the recent protests in various prisons, including Lakan Prison in Rasht and the women’s ward of Evin Prison.
In the women’s ward of Evin Prison, the brutal prison guards attacked and suppressed the protesting prisoners. Such repression will not stop these protests, nor will it intimidate us into silence.
As members of this campaign, we continue to call on all awakened consciences, both inside and outside of the country, to rise against the death penalty. Before the repressive apparatus of the ruling religious tyranny in Iran once again imprisons hundreds, or even thousands, of political and public prisoners in execution halls like Qezel Hesar, Karaj, Urmia, Zahedan, Mashhad, and many others, we urge you to support the ” No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign with all your strength.
Finally, while honoring the memory of all the victims of the inhumane punishment of “execution,” we emphasize the need to “abolish the death penalty.” Today, Tuesday, August 14, 2024, for the 29th consecutive week, we, the prisoners in 18 prisons, including Evin Prison (Wards 4, 6, and 8), Ghezel Hesar Prison (Units 3 and 4), Karaj Central Prison, Khorramabad Prison, Nizam Shiraz Prison, Khoy Prison, Naqadeh Prison, Tabriz Prison, Urmia Prison, Ardabil Prison, Salmas Prison, Saqqez Prison, Baneh Prison, Marivan Prison, Kamyaran Prison, Lakan Rasht Prison, Ghaemshahr Prison, and Mashhad Prison, will go on hunger strike in protest of the death penalty and the continuing executions in the country.
” No to Execution Tuesdays Campaign “
