The 79th campaign of “No to Executions Tuesdays” was held in 48 prisons on Tuesday, July 29. This round of the campaign came after the brutal crackdown on political prisoners in Ghezel Hesar Prison, the exile of Saeed Masouri—Iran’s longest-held political prisoner—to Zahedan Prison, and the executions of Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani.
On Tuesday, July 29, prisoners in 48 prisons across the country participated in a hunger strike as part of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign.
This hunger strike was held while two political prisoners, Behrouz Ehsani Eslamlou and Mehdi Hassani, were executed on July 27 following a violent assault on inmates in Ghezel Hesar Prison.
Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani were executed arbitrarily amid Iran’s horrific execution crisis, which has resulted in nearly 700 people hanged this year.https://t.co/mhCtgQmCNL
— Amnesty International USA (@amnestyusa) July 28, 2025
The full statement of the prisoners participating in the seventy-ninth round of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign is as follows:
Despite the savage attack on the heart of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign in Ghezel Hesar Prison, the campaign continues with resistance and unity.
The regime, incapable of resolving its domestic and foreign crises, has intensified its violence against the people. In this context, the regime of executions and repression, on the morning of Sunday, July 27, unjustly executed two participants in this campaign—political prisoners Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani—in Ghezel Hesar Prison, without prior notice and without allowing final visits with their families.
On Saturday, July 26, under orders from Ghezel Hesar Prison’s warden, Allahkaram Azizi, and his deputies, Hassan Ghobadi and Esmail Farajnejad, more than 100 armed prison guards and intelligence agents stormed the ward for political prisoners in Unit 4. All political prisoners in the unit were transferred to solitary confinement with handcuffs, shackles, and bags over their heads. Following this assault, Saeed Masouri, one of the initial signatories of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign, was transferred into exile to Zahedan Prison.
In response to this criminal act, defiant prisoners in Qarchak and Greater Tehran prisons held ceremonies and chanted slogans, reaffirming their commitment to stopping executions.
Also last week, political prisoner Yaghoub Derakhshan, who had previously been arrested on charges of “propaganda against the regime,” was sentenced to death in Lakan Prison in Rasht.
At least 20 people were executed in various prisons across the country over the past week. In addition, during the one-year presidency of Masoud Pezeshkian, the number of executions has reached at least 1,477—higher than previous years and especially far more than during [Ebrahim] Raisi’s presidency.
[Gholamhossein] Mohseni Ejei, head of the judiciary, openly acknowledged the intensification of repression during his press conference last week. He said that over 2,000 people were arrested solely during the so-called “12-day war.”
We, the members of the campaign, believe that the regime’s aim behind this relentless violence is to instill fear and silence a society that, despite all the pressure, continues to insist on its rightful demands for justice, freedom, human dignity, and the right to self-determination.
We, the members of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign in 48 prisons across the country, condemn the inhumane and unjust executions and repression of prisoners. We call on all awakened consciences and freedom seekers—both inside Iran and internationally—to amplify the cry of “No to Executions” by actively supporting this campaign and to prioritize its expansion by all means possible, despite the regime’s efforts to suppress it.
We express our deep concern about the condition of political prisoners involved in this campaign, who played an irreplaceable role in initiating this movement and have now been transferred to unknown locations. We urge everyone not to abandon the families of executed prisoners or the campaign’s members. The lives of political prisoners in Ghezel Hesar and other prisons across Iran are in serious danger.
We call on all prisoners, inspired by the defiant women and inmates of Qarchak and Greater Tehran prisons, to hold ceremonies and not allow the blood of the brave who were hanged to be trampled upon, nor the voices of the campaign’s founders to be silenced in obscurity and quiet.
The key to victory for freedom, equality, and the retreat of tyranny and reaction lies in collective unity and solidarity.
