In its 59th week, the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign continues in 38 prisons across Iran. The campaign, which has been going on since January 2024, has gained significant momentum, with detainees organizing weekly acts of defiance against the Iranian regime’s systematic execution of political prisoners and other detainees.
In their statement, the prisoners taking part in the campaign commemorated International Women’s Day by “saluting all the women of the world, especially the resilient and fighting women of Iran, who have endured extreme discrimination for centuries. Over the past 46 years, they have stood up against the fascist and misogynistic regime to claim their most basic human rights. The campaign honors the memory of the thousands of women who have lost their lives in the struggle for freedom.”
The prisoners warned that the oppressive regime in Iran continues to push forward its killing machine without pause. “Since the beginning of Esfand (February-March), nearly 100 people have been executed, with 28 executions taking place on just one day, Esfand 11 (March 1),” they wrote.
This week, coinciding with International Women’s Day, a group of female prisoners from Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz issued a statement announcing their participation in the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign in protest against the widespread executions in Iran. They demanded the abolition of the death penalty.
The campaign, while expressing gratitude to all the prisoners who have so far joined this movement against executions, reiterated its call to all prisoners, as well as all conscientious individuals, political activists, human rights defenders, civil society members, and labor activists, to “stand against executions in Iran and be the voice of every individual condemned to death.”
“We must all be aware that thousands of prisoners convicted of general crimes and dozens of political and ideological prisoners are currently on death row,” their statement reads in part. “These prisoners and their cellmates live every moment in prison under the shadow of the noose and the gallows, knowing that at any time, their right to life could be taken away by the repressive machinery of religious despotism. Therefore, it is imperative that in the midst of various news stories, the issue of the execution of death row prisoners remains at the forefront and is met with serious opposition.”
The prisoners participating in the 59th week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” hunger strike are from Evin Prison (women’s ward, wards 4 and 8), Ghezel Hesar Prison (units 3 and 4), Karaj Central Prison, Greater Tehran Prison, Arak Prison, Khorramabad Prison, Asadabad Prison in Isfahan, Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan, Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz, Nezam Prison in Shiraz, Bam Prison, Kahnuj Prison, Mashhad Prison, Qaemshahr Prison, Lakan Prison in Rasht (men’s and women’s wards), Ardabil Prison, Tabriz Prison, Urmia Prison, Salmas Prison, Khoy Prison, Naqadeh Prison, Saqqez Prison, Baneh Prison, Marivan Prison, Kamyaran Prison, Tabas Prison, Khorin Prison in Varamin, Rudsar Prison in Gilan, Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz, Ramhormoz Prison, Talesh Prison, Adelabad Prison in Shiraz (men’s and women’s wards), Joveyn Prison, Borazjan Prison, Gonbad-e Kavus Prison, Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah, Chobindar Prison in Qazvin, and Miandoab Prison.