From within the dark corridors of the clerical regime’s notorious Ghezel Hesar prison, a powerful cry for life is echoing across Iran and the world. On October 15, 2025, a massive hunger strike by 1,500 death row prisoners in Ward 2 marked its third day. This is an act of defiance against the regime’s machinery of death, turning the very dungeons designed to crush the human spirit into a frontline of resistance. The prisoners are courageously choosing to fight for their lives, exposing the brutality of a regime that rules by the gallows.
The spark: an unprecedented wave of state-sanctioned murder
The strike was ignited by an inhuman escalation in the regime’s execution spree. The protest began on Saturday, October 13, after prisoners in Ward 2 witnessed 11 of their fellow inmates being transferred to solitary confinement for their imminent executions. This was the final straw in the face of a horrifying wave of killings.
October 15—Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj, Iran
Prisoners in Ward 2 entered the third day of their hunger strike, protesting the regime’s mass executions and transfers to solitary confinement. It has become one of the largest recent strikes in the prison.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/7UQx7uaJ03— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 15, 2025
Between October 13 and 15 alone, Khamenei’s executioners hanged at least 38 prisoners—a shocking rate of one person killed every two hours. This frenzy is a desperate tactic by the ruling theocracy to sow terror and quell social unrest. However, instead of submission, this brutality has fueled an organized and powerful defiance, showing that the regime’s strategy of fear is beginning to backfire spectacularly.
A unified front: solidarity spreads like wildfire through prison walls
The courage of the prisoners in Ward 2 has inspired a wave of solidarity that is shattering prison walls. The strike quickly expanded as inmates in Ward 3 of Ghezel Hesar joined the protest on October 14.
Soon after, prisoners in Ward 4 issued a powerful statement of support, declaring, “For us, there is no choice left but to protest and strike.” In a significant development, political prisoners in Ward 7 of the infamous Evin Prison also released a statement backing the hunger strikers, calling the death penalty an “unjust and inhuman sentence.” This solidarity between different prisons and wards, particularly the explicit support from political prisoners, demonstrates a cohesive and growing movement of resistance within the regime’s dungeons. It proves that the spirit of defiance cannot be isolated or contained.
October 15—Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj, Iran
On the third day of their hunger strike, death-row prisoners in wards 1, 2, 3, and 4 continue protesting the regime’s execution spree. Several inmates are reportedly in critical condition after losing consciousness.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/Mn6Y1O6wx2— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 15, 2025
The regime’s reaction: brutality and deception
Faced with this courageous unity, the regime has responded with its typical blend of brute force and clumsy propaganda. The prison warden personally entered the ward and threatened the striking prisoners, telling them he would lock the kitchen and let them starve to death.
Their response was a testament to their resolve: “When we are supposed to be killed by execution, we prefer to die by hunger strike and protest.”
Simultaneously, the regime’s propaganda machine has gone into overdrive. State media has attempted to smear the protesters as members of a “Band of Horror” and “dangerous criminals” to delegitimize their humane protest. In a particularly ridiculous move, the regime filmed prisoners in a different ward eating, broadcasting the footage to falsely claim no hunger strike was taking place. These crude tactics reveal not strength, but a deep-seated fear of the truth.
Message from death-row prisoners on strike in Ghezel Hesar prison's Unit 2 to the United Nations:
"The Islamic Republic is preparing for a massacre here. Help us."#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/gQ49TTrbm0— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 15, 2025
Resistance beyond the walls: families and a nation stand with the prisoners
The struggle is not confined within prison walls. Echoing the defiance of their loved ones, families of the condemned prisoners have bravely gathered outside Ghezel Hesar, holding pictures and chanting “No to execution” and “Do not execute,” despite intimidation from security forces. This protest is powerfully synchronized with the 90th week of the nationwide “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign, a persistent civil movement against capital punishment. The connection between the prisoners’ strike, the families’ protests, and this national campaign demonstrates a deep and widespread societal rejection of the regime’s rule by fear.
The world must act now
In a powerful statement from behind bars, the striking prisoners declared the people of Iran their “only refuge” and implored them to raise their voices. Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has drawn the attention of the international community to this grave crisis. She has called for the immediate intervention of the United Nations, the Security Council, and the European Union to end this “horrific nightmare.”
The international community must take urgent action regarding the ongoing hunger strike and the fate of 1,500 prisoners on death row in Ghezel Hesar Prison.
I call on the United Nations, members of the UN Security Council, the European Union, and all international human rights… pic.twitter.com/gMuMlMTjOj— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) October 15, 2025
The Ghezel Hesar hunger strike has laid bare the murderous nature of the Iranian regime. More importantly, it has showcased the unbreakable will of the Iranian people. The world cannot remain silent. The international community must heed these calls, condemn the regime’s atrocities, and stand with the people of Iran and their organized Resistance in their quest for a free, democratic, and execution-free republic.