The “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign has reached a pivotal milestone, with prisoners from 30 different facilities across Iran now participating in this initiative. The most recent addition is Ramhormoz Prison, where inmates announced weekly hunger strikes starting next Tuesday. Their action is in response to the rising number of executions and the issuance of unjust death sentences, according to informed sources.
Previously, on Friday, January 3, 2025, prisoners at Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz had also declared their participation in the campaign.
A Movement Born in Qezel-Hesar Prison, Karaj
The campaign began in Qezel-Hesar Prison in Karaj on January 28, 2024. A group of political prisoners in Unit 4 of the prison decided to stage weekly hunger strikes on Tuesdays to protest the intensifying wave of executions in Iran. These prisoners denounce the death penalty as an inhumane and irreversible form of punishment, irrespective of the nature of the charges or the beliefs of those sentenced. They have demanded the abolition of this practice.
The movement was sparked by the execution of two political prisoners, Mohammad Ghobadlou and Farhad Salimi. In response, inmates launched their first hunger strike, vowing to continue this act of defiance every Tuesday. The choice of Tuesday was deliberate, as execution orders are typically carried out on that day, following the transfer of prisoners to solitary confinement on Mondays.
From Resistance to National Movement
What began in Qezel-Hesar has since grown into a nationwide movement. Political prisoners from Evin Prison (Units 4, 8, and the women’s ward) and Karaj Central Prison were among the first to join. The campaign has now spread to prisons in every corner of Iran, becoming a symbol of resistance against the “machinery of death” imposed by the regime.
Participants issue weekly statements documenting executions and new death sentences, calling on others to rise in protest. Their efforts have turned “No to Execution Tuesdays” into a platform for defending the legal and social rights of prisoners and opposing the death penalty.
Growing National and International Support
The “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign has become a cornerstone of resistance in Iranian prisons, spreading to numerous facilities nationwide. It has also garnered widespread international attention, with many human rights organizations, political entities, and public figures expressing their support for the movement.
This growing collective action underscores the urgent demand for an end to the use of capital punishment in Iran and highlights the resilience of those opposing systemic injustice within the country’s prisons.
