On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, the 99th consecutive week of the No to Executions Tuesdays campaign was marked by hunger strikes staged by prisoners in 55 prisons across Iran. This coordinated action from inside the country’s prisons represents a collective stand in defense of the right to life and a protest against the regime’s systematic policy of execution.
In their weekly statement, participating prisoners strongly condemned the execution of at least 67 individuals in the past week alone, stating: “These executions are carried out without fair trials, without effective access to independent legal counsel, and in near-total media silence. This process demonstrates the institutionalization of the death penalty as a tool of political and social repression.”
The No to Executions Tuesdays campaign called on the Iranian people, awakened consciences worldwide, and international human rights organizations to amplify the voices of prisoners facing execution, to publicize and pursue their cases, and to provide practical and media support to their families.
Opposition to the death penalty has increasingly become a central demand of Iranian society.
Families of political prisoners and of those killed in recent years took part, holding photographs of their loved ones and chanting “No to Executions.” Their presence went beyond personal grief or individual cases; it was a conscious and determined effort to halt the ongoing cycle of death and repression imposed on Iranian society.
On the same Tuesday, protests and solidarity actions under the banner “No to Executions” took place in dozens of cities across the country, including Yazd, Neyshabur, Nahavand, Malayer, Mahshahr, Gorgan, Gachsaran, Karaj, Kashan, Quchan, Qeshm, Fuman, Fasa, Someh Sara, Sanandaj, Ramsar, Tehran, Arak, Langarud, Lahijan, Shahroud, Siahkal, Rasht, Chalus, Jahrom, Bushehr, Isfahan, Kermanshah, and Sonqor.
This wide geographical spread underscores the depth of public outrage over the growing use of capital punishment. Students and young people played a particularly active role in organizing and sustaining these protests in many cities.