The No to Execution Tuesdays campaign, now in its 141st week of activity, with the participation of prisoners in 66 prisons across Iran, called for broader public solidarity to stop executions and for the immediate revocation of death sentences issued against protesters and political prisoners, as the World Day Against the Death Penalty approaches.
In its weekly statement, the campaign emphasized that the death penalty is a fundamental violation of the right to life and constitutes “state-sanctioned killing,” adding that in Iran it has become a tool for instilling fear, silencing protests, and suppressing dissent.
Referring to growing international concern over the wave of executions in Iran, the statement noted that 46 countries, during a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, condemned the widespread use of the death penalty, particularly against protesters. The campaign also warned about the continuing issuance of death sentences against individuals arrested during protests, including women and young people, and called for these sentences to be revoked immediately.
According to figures released by the campaign, at least 22 people were executed in prisons across Iran over the past week, including several individuals who had been arrested during protests. The statement stressed that the escalation of executions is an attempt to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation and to prevent the spread of social protests.
One section of the statement reads: “We believe that the ruling dictatorship in Iran seeks to securitize society and intimidate the public through the escalation of executions. Yet in the face of this policy, resistance and social solidarity continue to grow day by day.”
In its concluding remarks, the No to Execution Tuesdays campaign urged the people of Iran, justice-seeking families, prisoners, human rights defenders, and all opponents of the death penalty to unite in defense of the right to life and to help end this punishment, insisting that gallows must not be allowed to become a tool for silencing society’s voice.
About the No to Executions Tuesdays Campaign
The No to Executions Tuesdays Campaign, now in its third year, has become the most widespread, enduring, and influential protest movements inside Iran’s prisons. Despite intensified security pressure, persistent threats, restrictions on communication, and punitive measures against participants, the protest movement has not been stopped.
A significant number of the striking inmates consists of female political prisoners serving their sentences in the women’s wards of Evin Prison, Qarchak Prison in Varamin, Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz, Adelabad Prison in Shiraz, Zahedan Prison, Yazd Prison, and Rasht Prison.
