Tehran, Iran – June 3, 2025 – In a stark warning issued on their 71st week of protest, participants in the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign have urgently called on families of death-row prisoners and the international community to break the silence surrounding the Iranian regime’s escalating use of capital punishment, a tactic increasingly seen as a desperate measure to quell dissent. The campaign, now active in 46 prisons across Iran, highlighted a horrifying surge in state-sanctioned killings.
The prisoners’ statement reveals that since May 21, 2025, (the beginning of the Persian month of Khordad), at least 67 prisoners, including three women, have been executed. This averages out to approximately seven executions per day. In a particularly brutal display, 20 prisoners were reportedly hanged on a single day, May 28, 2025.
The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign: Ongoing hunger strike in 41 prisons across Iran
These figures align with reports from outside opposition groups. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) stated on May 30, 2025, that 41 individuals were executed over just three days, from May 26 to May 28, 2025. This equates to nearly 14 executions daily, or one person killed less than every two hours. The NCRI also noted that since July 2024, during Masoud Pezeshkian’s presidential tenure, the number of executions has reached a staggering 1,275.
The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign statement asserts that this wave of executions is a deliberate strategy by the regime. “The regime of slaughter and execution, in its dungeons, executes prisoners en masse in complete secrecy,” the statement reads, adding that these actions, coupled with the “mockery of international laws and leveraging religion,” are aimed at “suppressing justice-seeking and popular uprisings.”
The prisoners emphasize that this high level of capital punishment is accompanied by widespread violations of the right to a fair trial. They highlight specific cases to underscore the grave injustices. On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, Pedram Madani was reportedly hanged in Ghezel Hesar prison on charges of “espionage,” his execution carried out in “media silence.”
Furthermore, the statement raises alarm over the case of Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh, previously sentenced to death for “espionage” by Judge Abolghassem Salavati, notoriously dubbed the “death judge.” Mahdavi Shayesteh’s appeal for a retrial has been rejected by the Supreme Court, placing him at “serious risk of execution.”
In light of these grim developments, the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign directly implores families of those condemned to death to act. “The campaign…advises the families of death-row prisoners to quickly publicize the case files of their loved ones and inform the people of Iran and human rights institutions,” the statement urges. The stated aim of this public disclosure is crucial: “so that with this enlightenment, we can stop and disable the machinery of slaughter and execution.”
The prisoners also issue a stark warning to these families: “and they should not be deceived by the tricks or threats of intelligence agents and interrogators, lest the government execute prisoners in media silence and, in a sense, trample their right to life through state-sanctioned murder.”
The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign itself demonstrates growing internal resistance. Having commenced in January 2024, it marked its 71st consecutive week on June 3, 2025. The recent inclusion of prisoners from Firuzabad prison in Fars province has expanded the campaign’s reach to 46 prisons across Iran, where participating inmates engage in weekly hunger strikes. The campaign also expressed solidarity with other protest movements, such as the ongoing strike by truck drivers, now in its twelfth day.
The prisoners’ message is one of both dire warning and resilient determination. They call upon the broader public, particularly families of those on death row, to support their campaign and ensure that “the voice of ‘No to Execution’ must resonate in every city and street.” They conclude with a powerful assertion: “Power lies in our unity and solidarity,” signaling that despite the regime’s brutal crackdown, the spirit of resistance remains unbroken.
