In the 126th week of the protest campaign “No to Executions Tuesdays,” political prisoners in 57 prisons across Iran once again expressed their opposition to the continued issuance and implementation of death sentences through a hunger strike on Tuesday, June 23. With Kerman Prison joining this protest movement, the number of prisons participating in the campaign has reached 57, a figure that reflects the expansion and growing influence of this demand among prisoners in different parts of the country.
Over the past nearly three years, the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign has become one of the most enduring and widespread protest movements inside prisons. Despite security pressure, threats, communication restrictions, and the potential consequences of hunger strikes, participants continue to insist on maintaining their protests. They believe that the death penalty not only violates the fundamental right to life but has also become a tool for intensifying an atmosphere of fear and silencing critical voices.
UN Officials Call for a Halt to Executions and Repression in Iran
The full text of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign statement is as follows:
Kerman Prison joins the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign
Continuation of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign in its 126th week across 57 different prisons
At a time when human dignity should be the foundation of law, justice, and governance, the killing and execution machine of Iran’s executioner regime continues to operate at full speed. According to reports received, on June 7, two women aged 28 and 32, identified as Asieh Farahmand and Zeynab Zarini, were hanged in Qazvin Prison. Due to the lack of transparent reporting, news of their executions has only recently reached us.
Also, on June 16, two political prisoners arrested during the January protests in Shahroud, Abolfazl Saeedi and Javad Zamani, were executed. Accordingly, the number of prisoners executed between May 22 and June 22 has reached 134.
The death penalty in Iran is not a tool for achieving justice but rather a mechanism for spreading fear, silencing dissenting voices, and strengthening the authoritarian structure of power.
On the other hand, after months of military conflict and the costs imposed on the lives of the Iranian people, the Iranian regime and the United States reached a preliminary understanding in recent weeks. According to the published terms, no attention was given to human rights, repression, or the horrific executions in Iran. This demonstrates that the people of Iran must rely on themselves to bring about change.
Amnesty International and Ms. Mai Sato, the United Nations Special Rapporteur, along with a number of UN experts, warned in separate statements about the neglect of human rights violations in Iran and the continued impunity of those responsible for violating the human rights of the Iranian people from international accountability and prosecution.
We declare to all awakened consciences, international institutions, human rights advocates, and opponents of the death penalty:
We, the prisoners participating in the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign, who for 126 consecutive weeks have protested every Tuesday in prisons across Iran through hunger strikes and every means available to us against medieval-style executions in Iran, once again declare that the human rights of the Iranian people, especially prisoners, are not negotiable. Together with the people of Iran, we will defend freedom, equality, and the abolition of the death penalty until our last breath and final ounce of strength.
We call on all honorable and aware people of Iran, as well as the awakened consciences of the world and international human rights organizations, not to remain indifferent to the growing wave of executions in Iran and to take responsible and effective action to stop this organized crime carried out by the religious fascism ruling Iran.
History has shown that no tyranny has endured through reliance on violence, and no government has been able to permanently silence people’s demands for justice. What will endure are the ideals of freedom, equality, and respect for the right to life and human dignity—values for which the people of Iran have paid a heavy price and continue to uphold.
The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign informs the public that a group of prisoners in Kerman Prison has joined the campaign in protest against death sentences and participates in hunger strikes every Tuesday alongside other prisoners.
Prisoners participating in the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign are on hunger strike on Tuesday, June 23, during the campaign’s 126th week in 57 prisons across the country.
