The 38th week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign was held in 22 prisons across Iran, with inmates going on a hunger strike on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
The prisons that participated in the 38th week of the campaign include Evin (women’s ward, wards 4 and 8), Ghezel Hesar (units 3 and 4), Central Karaj Prison, Greater Tehran Prison, Arak Prison, Asadabad Prison in Isfahan, Nezam Prison in Shiraz, 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.
In the statement for the 38th week of the campaign, the striking prisoners declared: “On the same day as the World Day Against the Death Penalty, the regime of executions in Iran sent seven people to the gallows in various prisons. In the past week alone, more than 36 people were executed, with 19 of them hanged on October 9, 2024.”
The statement from the striking prisoners further reads: “On October 13, 2024, the regime’s judiciary referred the case of eight individuals accused of theft, who have been sentenced to hand amputation, to court in Tehran. This is a clear mockery and trampling of international human rights laws, aimed at stifling potential protests and uprisings by the people.”
The striking prisoners added: “Participants in the ‘No to Executions Tuesdays’ campaign have been holding hunger strikes every Tuesday for over eight months, resisting the inhumane death sentences and striving to amplify the voices of those on death row, regardless of the charges against them. Ms. Mai Sato, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Iran, in her latest remarks, acknowledged and endorsed the ‘No to Executions Tuesdays’ campaign. We expect more urgent and serious action from her, the Human Rights Council, and all international human rights organizations to stop the regime’s killing machine, as the lives of many defenseless prisoners depend on it.”
In its 38 weeks, the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign has garnered support from politicians, parliaments, human rights activists and organizations, and free Iranians across the globe.
In a message for the World Day Against the Death Penalty, Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, said: “This year, the World Day Against the Death Penalty holds particular significance for the Islamic Republic of Iran, where we continue to witness an alarming increase in the use of the death penalty, with over 500 executions reportedly carried out this year.”
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The Special Rapporteur added: “In the face of this, the courage of the Iranian people shines through. The ‘No to Execution Tuesdays’ campaign, a prisoner-led initiative, in which prisoners go on a hunger strike every Tuesday against the death penalty, demonstrates the unwavering commitment to human rights and justice.”
In tandem with its warmongering in the region, the regime has been waging a campaign of executions in Iran. On the eve of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, regime authorities hanged seven people in Karaj and Zahedan. Since Massoud Pezeshkian became the regime’s president in July, the number of known executions has reached 267.
At the same time, the regime continues to persecute political prisoners and dissidents. Iranian political prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared was due to complete her 15-year sentence on October 12, 2024. Despite spending the entire sentence without a single day of medical leave, the Iranian regime’s judiciary blocked her release by imposing an additional sentence. According to the regime’s own laws, Akbari, one of the longest-serving female political prisoners in Iran, should have been freed in 2019 after serving 10 years.
