A peaceful protest by families of death row prisoners outside the Iranian regime’s parliament on Sunday, October 19, turned violent after security forces attacked the demonstrators. Witnesses reported beatings, arrests, and public outrage at the authorities’ brutal response.
According to local sources, families of prisoners on death row in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj gathered in Tehran’s Baharestan Square to demand an end to the wave of executions sweeping the country. Chanting “No to execution” and “Stop the killings,” the protesters called for the revocation of their relatives’ death sentences.
Moments after the rally began, security and police forces of the regime violently dispersed the crowd. Eyewitnesses said that the agents beat protesters with batons, injuring several, including women.
One witness told a local reporter: “They came with empty hands, only their voices. But the security forces attacked without warning.”
Despite the crackdown, the families stood their ground and continued chanting “No to execution.” Drivers passing through Baharestan honked their horns in solidarity, while bystanders shouted “Let them protest!” and “It’s their right!” in defiance of the violent response.
Videos circulating on social media show security forces arresting several protesters, though the exact number of detainees remains unknown.
The protest took place as more than 1,500 inmates in Ward 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison entered the seventh day of a hunger strike. Many of them have sewn their lips shut in protest of the regime’s mass executions.
Reports from inside the prison indicate that authorities have cut off the ward’s water supply, leaving prisoners in a critical condition. Numerous cases of fainting and severe dehydration have been reported.
Despite the worsening situation, neither the judiciary nor prison officials have responded to the demands of the prisoners or their families.
One of the protesting family members said: “More than 1,500 people in Ghezel Hesar are on the verge of death. We came here just to say—enough.”
Earlier, on Tuesday, October 14, families of prisoners sentenced to death in Ghezel Hesar Prison had also gathered in front of the prison’s main gate, chanting “No to execution” to show their support for their loved ones.
Carrying photos of their children and relatives, they shouted slogans such as “Don’t execute!” and “Immediate cancellation of death sentences.”
According to witnesses, security forces were deployed to the scene and attempted to disperse the gathering through threats and intimidation. However, the families insisted on remaining and continued their peaceful protest.
The violent suppression of Sunday’s demonstration by families of death row prisoners marks the latest example of the Iranian regime’s brutal policy toward the relatives of victims and opponents of the death penalty — a policy that persists despite mounting public outrage.
This latest assault underscores the Iranian regime’s escalating repression of families of death row inmates and opponents of the death penalty—an increasingly desperate attempt to silence growing public anger over its execution policy.
