The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign continued into its 124th consecutive week on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, with political prisoners in 56 prisons across Iran participating in a coordinated hunger strike. Campaign participants once again voiced their opposition to the growing use of capital punishment and the intensifying climate of repression, reaffirming their stance against the death penalty.
Over the past two years, the campaign has evolved into one of the largest and most enduring prisoner-led protest movements against executions in Iran. Despite sustained security pressure and ongoing restrictions, it has continued to expand and attract increasing public support each week.
According to a statement issued by the campaign, prison authorities and security agencies have, in recent months, attempted to suppress the movement and prevent prisoners from joining hunger strikes through summonses, threats, disciplinary measures, restrictions on family visits and telephone calls, and the denial of certain basic rights. Nevertheless, participating political prisoners stressed that they will not remain silent in the face of rising executions and escalating repression.
Among those participating in the campaign are women political prisoners held in the women’s ward of Evin Prison, who chant anti-execution slogans every Tuesday in protest against executions. Due to their participation in these protests, prison authorities have imposed visitation bans and denied them phone contact with their families.
Members of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign also expressed support for student protests that have taken place in various cities across the country, backing demands for educational justice and emphasizing the decisive role of the younger generation in shaping Iran’s future.
The statement further reported that at least 49 individuals have been executed since the beginning of the current Iranian month. It also noted that the death sentence of political prisoner Yaghoub Derakhshan, currently held in Lakan Prison in Rasht, has once again been upheld. In addition, death sentences have been issued against three other political prisoners: Yasin Shahbakhsh, Hassan Mosallavi, and Ali Kamali.
The campaign also warned of the imminent risk of execution for four additional political prisoners held in Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz: Farshad Etemadifar, Alireza Merdasi, Masoud Jamei, and Reza Abdali. The statement described their situation as deeply alarming.
Participants in the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign, who have maintained their opposition to executions for 124 consecutive weeks, emphasized that defending the right to life means defending the most fundamental of all human rights. They called on all sectors of society to raise their voices against the issuance and implementation of death sentences and to strengthen the collective demand for justice and the protection of the right to life.
