At least 116 prisoners have been executed in Iranian prisons in the month of Esfand this year (starting on February 19, 2025).
On Tuesday, March 18, coinciding with the last Tuesday of the Iranian year (which begins on March 21), the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign marked its 60th week, while the Iranian Supreme Court rejected the retrial request of Hatam Ozdemir, a political prisoner sentenced to death.
Members of this campaign, while congratulating the Iranian people on Nowruz (the Persian New Year), expressed their hope that their resistance against “tyranny and executions” would burn as brightly as the flames of Chaharshanbe Suri (the fire festival held on the last Wednesday before Nowruz).
They pointed out that at least 116 prisoners have been executed in Iranian prisons between February 19 and now, stating that Iran has set a “shameful record” in issuing and carrying out death sentences.
Currently, prisoners in 38 prisons across the country go on hunger strike every Tuesday to protest against the implementation of death sentences in Iran.
The statement issued by the members of this campaign in its 60th week is as follows:
The ‘No to Execution Tuesdays’ campaign, on the eve of the New Year, congratulates the dear people of Iran and our compatriots around the world on the arrival of the national celebration of Chaharshanbe Suri. We hope that the people’s resistance against tyranny and executions in Iran will burn even brighter, like the flames of the last Wednesday of the year, and bring an end to darkness, executions, killings, and violence.
The ruling religious dictatorship has executed 116 people since February 19. Additionally, in a horrifying statistic, 1,148 prisoners have been brutally executed during the year 1403 (from March 21, 2024, to March 18, 2025), setting yet another shameful record.
In another inhumane act, on March 13, a citizen named Haidar Mohammadi (Hassanvand) was killed under torture by officers at the Nahavand detention center.
Despite immense pressure, the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign has endured its second Nowruz (Persian New Year) with resistance and steadfastness against repression and executions. It hopes to continue standing against death sentences with even greater strength and determination in the year 1404 (beginning March 21, 2025).
All the support received over the past year has been invaluable to us. We express our gratitude to political, civil, labor, and human rights organizations and groups, both inside and outside Iran. We also appreciate the various sectors of society—including workers, teachers, nurses, retirees, writers, artists, families seeking justice, and students—who have opposed executions and supported this campaign, whether directly or indirectly, in any form.
We have now risen against executions in 38 different prisons, taking a small step toward saving the lives of thousands of prisoners sentenced to death. The prisons of the regime are filled with inmates who may face execution in the coming year.
For example, out of approximately 130 female prisoners in Lakan Prison, 14 have been sentenced to death, and the execution orders for two of them have already been issued. Lakan Prison is just one of dozens of such prisons.
In this regard, we call on all prisoners across the country and everyone who seeks freedom and justice to join and support this campaign.
