Prisoners across 56 facilities in Iran held the 124th week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” hunger strike on June 9, 2026. The campaign continues against the backdrop of a brutal state crackdown where the Iranian regime has accelerated its use of capital punishment to suppress dissent and maintain its grip on power.
According to the prisoners’ weekly statement, the regime has hanged at least 49 people since late May 2026. The striking prisoners warned of new death sentences and the imminent execution of political detainees.
In Lakan Prison in Rasht, PMOI supporter Yaghoub Derakhshan, 51, recently had his death sentence confirmed for the second time. Derakhshan was arrested in April 2025 and initially sentenced to death in August 2025 on charges of “Baghi” (armed rebellion) in a video-conference trial by judge Ahmad Darvish-Goftar. After the Supreme Court referred the case for retrial in November 2025, Derakhshan was re-sentenced by the first judge’s son, Mohammad Ali Darvish-Goftar, in another online show trial conducted without the presence of a lawyer.
In Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz—a severely overcrowded facility suffering from water shortages and a lack of basic sanitation—five political prisoners face imminent execution. Farshad Etemadifar, Alireza Merdasi, Masoud Jamei, and Reza Abdali have been sentenced to death on charges including “Moharebeh” (enmity against God) and membership in the PMOI. Furthermore, the statement noted that death sentences have recently been issued for political prisoners Hassan Maslavi, Yasin Shahbakhsh, and Ali Kamali.
Despite facing intense pressure from security institutions and witnessing the execution of fellow campaign members, the striking prisoners utilized their weekly statement to express solidarity with recent civilian protests over educational inequality.
“In the past week, aware students took to the streets in various cities to defend their rights, to show they are fed up with the government’s educational policies that are in clear contradiction with educational justice,” the statement read. “The ‘No to Executions Tuesdays’ campaign supports the brave and aware students. Undoubtedly, the future of Iran with such passionate individuals will be bright.”
The campaign members urged the public to actively oppose the regime’s use of the death penalty. They noted that raising voices against these executions defends the fundamental right to life, which is “a sign of maturity, equality, freedom, and humanity of any society.”
“Freedom and justice are the right of every human being, and true justice is achieved not through death and the deprivation of the right to life, but through respect for human rights,” the prisoners declared. “Consequently, to attain it from oppressive and tyrannical rulers, one must struggle and resist.”
The prisoners participating in the 124th week of the strike on June 9, 2026, are located in 56 facilities: Evin (women’s and men’s wards), Ghezel Hesar (units 2, 3, and 4), Karaj Central, Fardis Karaj, Greater Tehran, Qarchak, Khorin Varamin, Chubindar Qazvin, Ahar, Arak, Langerud Qom, Khorramabad, Borujerd, Yasuj, Asadabad Isfahan, Dastgerd Isfahan, Sheiban Ahvaz, Sepidar Ahvaz (women’s and men’s wards), Nezam Shiraz, Adelabad Shiraz (women’s and men’s wards), Firuzabad Fars, Dehdasht, Zahedan (women’s and men’s wards), Borazjan, Ramhormoz, Behbahan, Bam, Yazd (women’s and men’s wards), Kahnuj, Tabas, Birjand Central, Mashhad, Gorgan, Sabzevar, Gonbad-e Kavus, Qaemshahr, Rasht (men’s and women’s wards), Rudsar, Haviq Talesh, Ezbaram Lahijan, Dizel Abad Kermanshah, Ardabil, Tabriz, Urmia, Salmas, Khoy, Naqadeh, Miandoab, Mahabad, Bukan, Saqqez, Baneh, Marivan, Sanandaj, Kamyaran, and Ilam prisons.