As Iran marks the second anniversary of the 2022 nationwide uprising, Iran’s regime continues its recent wave of executions. On September 9 and 11, the regime executed at least 12 prisoners. Among them was 41-year-old Morteza Yousefi, a former national Greco-Roman wrestling champion, who was hanged in Noshahr prison, Mazandaran, after spending 10 years in prison. He held a bachelor’s degree in physical education and was a coach and referee.
On the same day, two other prisoners were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison, and another prisoner was hanged in Isfahan.
In response to the unabating wave of executions, inmates in 21 prisons across Iran held the 34th week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” on September 17.
Led by a group of political prisoners who launched the campaign 34 weeks ago, the campaign now includes prisoners from: Evin (women’s ward, Ward 4, and Ward 8), Ghezel Hesar (Units 3 and 4), Greater Tehran Prison, Karaj Central Prison, Khorramabad Prison, Shiraz Military Prison, Isfahan’s Asad Abad Prison, Bam Prison, Mashhad Prison, Lakan Prison in Rasht, Qaemshahr Prison, Ardabil Prison, Tabriz Prison, Urmia Prison, Salmas Prison, Khoy Prison, Naqadeh Prison, Saqqez Prison, Baneh Prison, Marivan Prison, and Kamyaran Prison.
The political prisoners participating in the campaign, while honoring the memory of all those killed during the 2022 protests and expressing solidarity with their families, began their hunger strike in memory of the protesters who were unjustly hanged by the regime’s oppressive apparatus. These include the martyrs Mohsen Shekari, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, Mohammad Hosseini, Majidreza Rahnavard, and others, including the late Reza Rasayi.
The participants in the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign stated in their declaration that given that the number of executions since the new president under the Supreme Leader’s rule took office has exceeded 170, they issued a serious warning regarding the situation of those detained in the 2022 nationwide protests, who are now facing the threat of execution. They called for increased attention from political and human rights activists, the media, and the Iranian public regarding the plight of these political prisoners.
The striking prisoners expressed their appreciation for the support of 100 former political prisoners and 150 civil and political activists for the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign and renewed their call for public support for this movement.