On Tuesday, July 21, the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign expanded to 59 prisons across Iran with the addition of Neyshabur Prison in its 130th week. At the same time, the strike by prisoners in Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison, which houses more than 1,500 inmates under death sentences, marked a new phase in prisoners’ protests.
To mark the occasion, the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign issued a statement. The statement reads:
The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign, while condemning the escalating executions in Iran, honors the memory of all executed prisoners, especially those who sacrificed their lives for freedom and in the struggle against authoritarian dictatorship.
Collective Hunger Strike at Ghezel Hesar Prison Calls for Halt to Executions
Over the past week, Iran’s authoritarian regime once again took the lives of four political prisoners through the medieval practice of execution: Aref Khoshkar at Ghezel Hesar Prison, and Mohammad Amini Dehaghani, Erfan Esfandiari, and Gol Mohammad Mohammadi at Isfahan Prison.
Like many other political prisoners sentenced to death, these four oppressed prisoners were tried in unfair proceedings and executed. May they rest in peace, and may their memory be honored.
According to reliable statistics, at least 280 prisoners have been executed since March 22, 2026, the first day of the Iranian calendar year.
In opposition to and protest against these inhumane executions, more than 1,500 prisoners in Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison have been on strike and protesting for more than a week, demanding the abolition of the death penalty.
All prisoners in this ward have been sentenced to death, most of them on drug-related charges. It is clear to everyone that the principal importers and producers of narcotics in Iran are the leaders of the Iranian regime and commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). To cover up this blatant wrongdoing, the regime sends to the gallows, on a daily basis, people who have become entangled in drug-related offenses because of poverty and deprivation.
The prisoners of Ghezel Hesar and the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign have now stood firm in opposition to the death penalty in Iran for 130 consecutive weeks.
In this regard, a group of prisoners at Neyshabur Prison also announced in a statement that they are joining the campaign. Accordingly, on Tuesday, July 21, during the campaign’s 130th week, participants in 59 prisons across Iran are observing a hunger strike as part of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign.
