The “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign continued into its 125th week on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, with political prisoners in 56 prisons across Iran participating in a hunger strike. Participants once again expressed their opposition to the death penalty and the intensification of state repression.
The campaign, which has become one of the largest and most sustained prisoner-led protests against capital punishment, has continued despite ongoing security pressure, restrictions, and threats. The persistence of these protests reflects prisoners’ determination to defend the right to life and oppose the increasing use of executions.
Prisoners participating in the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign have emphasized that they will not remain silent in the face of rising executions and an increasingly repressive environment. They describe the protest as a reflection of the voices of prisoners who continue their hunger strike and resistance in defense of the fundamental right to life and in opposition to the cycle of violence and executions.
A significant number of these prisoners are women political prisoners, currently serving their sentences in the women’s ward of Evin Prison (Tehran), Qarchak Prison (Varamin), the women’s ward of Sepidar Prison (Ahvaz), the women’s ward of Adelabad Prison (Shiraz), the women’s ward of Zahedan Prison, the women’s ward of Yazd Prison, and the women’s ward of the Lakan Prison in Rasht.
The political prisoners in the women’s ward of Evin continue to join the campaign every Tuesday, despite tremendous pressure from prison authorities and numerous restrictions imposed on them for doing so.
According to participants, the continuation of the campaign is not only a protest against the deprivation of the right to life, but also an effort to uphold the demands for justice and human dignity and to challenge a policy that uses the death penalty as a tool to instill fear and silence dissenting voices.
Growing Public Support for the “No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign
As the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign entered its 125th week, and amid growing concerns over the implementation of death sentences and increasing pressure on political prisoners and individuals detained during protests, support for the movement has also emerged in various cities across the country.
Groups of citizens and young protesters have expressed solidarity with political prisoners and their families by sharing messages of support and chanting anti-execution slogans.
These expressions of support come despite ongoing restrictions and a heavy security atmosphere surrounding protest activities. Nevertheless, supporters of the campaign have sought to bring opposition to the death penalty into the public sphere and draw attention to the situation of prisoners facing severe sentences, including capital punishment.
