On June 2, 2026, political prisoners across 56 prisons in Iran continued their hunger strikes, marking the 123rd week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign. In a joint statement, the striking prisoners highlighted that the Iranian regime is accelerating its use of capital punishment to suppress public dissent following the nationwide uprisings of December 2025 and January 2026.
“As is evident, the economic situation of the society is getting worse day by day, and the government, trapped in a dead end of incurable crises and to prevent the explosion of public anger and the spark of any uprising and rebellion, does not stop suppression and executions,” the prisoners wrote. They noted that the regime aims to “justify the suppression and killing of the people” by preemptively attributing potential uprisings to foreign countries.
Executions and targeted killings of uprising protesters
The campaign’s statement condemned the hanging of two political prisoners, Ashkan Maleki and Mehrdad Mohammadinia, in Ghezel Hesar prison on June 1. Both men were detained during the December 2025–January 2026 uprising. The judiciary labeled them as leaders of the protests and sentenced them to death via Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court for setting fire to a Basij suppression center in western Tehran.
The prisoners also mourned the deaths of two Kurdish brothers from the Yarsan community, Mojtaba and Meysam Veisi. According to the statement, the brothers were pursued by security forces during the recent uprising and forced into hiding, where they died during an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) raid on their location. Furthermore, the statement revealed that the Intelligence Ministry has escalated its crackdown by “summoning, threatening, and bribing” the families of political prisoners and anti-execution activists to force them into silence.
New death sentences issued for political prisoners
The statement warned of a new wave of death sentences issued against political detainees. The Rasht Revolutionary Court recently re-confirmed the death sentence for Zahra Tabari, a 68-year-old electrical engineer held in Lakan Prison, on charges of membership and activity in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Other imminent execution risks include Benjamin Naghdi, a detainee from the December–January uprising, and brothers Hasan and Hossein Amiri, who were recently sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Afshari. Two political prisoners from Bukan, Raouf Sheikh Maroufi and Mohammad Faraji, have also been sentenced to death.
Calling for immediate global intervention, the campaign members declared: “We ask the honorable and aware people of Iran and the awakened human consciences to raise their voices of protest against the extrajudicial and brutal executions of the dictatorial government of Iran, which are issued and carried out without the right to a fair trial.” They urged international human rights organizations “to take effective measures to prevent the further massacre of prisoners.”
The prisoners participating in the 123rd week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” hunger strike are located in 56 facilities, including: Evin Prison (men’s and women’s wards), Ghezel Hesar Prison (units 2, 3, and 4), Karaj Central Prison, Fardis Prison in Karaj, Greater Tehran Prison, Qarchak Prison, Khorin Prison in Varamin, Chobindar Prison in Qazvin, Ahar Prison, Arak Prison, Langarud Prison in Qom, Khorramabad Prison, Borujerd Prison, Yasuj Prison, Asadabad Prison in Isfahan, Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan, Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz, Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz (men’s and women’s wards), Nezam Prison in Shiraz, Adelabad Prison in Shiraz (men’s and women’s wards), Firuzabad Prison in Fars, Dehdasht Prison, Zahedan Prison (men’s and women’s wards), Borazjan Prison, Ramhormoz Prison, Behbahan Prison, Bam Prison, Yazd Prison (men’s and women’s wards), Kahnuj Prison, Tabas Prison, Birjand Central Prison, Mashhad Prison, Gorgan Prison, Sabzevar Prison, Gonbad-e Kavus Prison, Qaemshahr Prison, Lakan Prison in Rasht (men’s and women’s wards), Rudsar Prison, Haviq Prison in Talesh, Azbaram Prison in Lahijan, Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah, Ardabil Prison, Tabriz Prison, Urmia Prison, Salmas Prison, Khoy Prison, Naqadeh Prison, Miandoab Prison, Mahabad Prison, Bukan Prison, Saqqez Prison, Baneh Prison, Marivan Prison, Sanandaj Prison, Kamyaran Prison, and Ilam Prison.