Prisoners
in Iran continue one of the bravest acts of resistance inside the
country by holding hunger strikes every Tuesday against executions.
This protest, now known as “No to Executions Tuesdays,” began
in January 2024 in Ghezel Hesar Prison. It started when prisoners
sentenced to death saw their cellmates being taken away to be hanged.
Instead of silently waiting for their own turn, they chose to resist.
Their action began as a cry from death row, but it has now become a
nationwide prison movement.
As
of Tuesday, 30 June 2026, the campaign has reached its 127th week and
has spread to 57 prisons across Iran. The latest prison to join the
action was Kerman Prison. This means that prisoners across the country —
from Evin and Ghezel Hesar to Ahvaz, Zahedan, Tabriz, Sanandaj,
Kermanshah, Shiraz, Rasht and many other prisons — are raising one
common demand: Stop the executions.
This
campaign deserves far wider support. Many people outside Iran, and even
many Iranians abroad, are still unaware of it. Yet these prisoners are
risking punishment, isolation, deprivation of basic rights and even
death in order to defend the most fundamental human right: the right to
life.
The
Islamic Republic has always used execution as a weapon of fear. This is
not a system of “justice.” It is a system of punishment and
intimidation. It is used against political prisoners, protesters,
oppressed national minorities, women, workers, the poor, religious
minorities and many others who are denied the right to a fair trial and
basic legal protections. Forced confessions, torture, secret trials and
vague charges such as “enmity against God,” “corruption on earth,”
“espionage,” or “collaboration with the enemy” are used to prepare the
ground for state killings.
The
figures are shocking. In 2025, human rights observers recorded at least
1,639 executions in Iran, a huge increase compared with 975 cases in
2024. Amnesty International’s global report, meanwhile, states that
there were at least 2,159 executions in Iran in 2025. Whatever the exact
number, the conclusion is the same: the Islamic Republic has turned the
gallows into one of the main instruments of its rule.
The
situation has become even more dangerous during the recent war with the
United States and Israel. While the people of Iran suffer from bombs,
sanctions, fear, economic hardship and insecurity, the Islamic Republic
has used the war as an excuse to intensify repression inside the
country. Thousands of people have been arrested. Political cases have
been accelerated. Accusations of “collaboration,” “espionage” and
“acting on behalf of the enemy” are being used to silence opposition.
Human rights organisations have reported dozens of politically motivated
executions during this period.
Let Us Defend the Prisoners’ Resistance in Iran
In
the prisoners’ statement for the 127th week, it was stated that in the
Iranian calendar month of Khordad alone — 22 May to 21 June 2026 — at
least 134 executions took place. This reality means that even while the
regime speaks of war, negotiations and national security, it continues
to operate its death machine against the people.
The
truth must be stated clearly: the people of Iran are trapped between
imperialist aggression from outside and reactionary repression from
within. The United States and Israel are not bringing freedom to Iran.
Their attacks only create more suffering and provide the Islamic
Republic with yet another excuse to increase repression against the
people. Therefore, the Islamic Republic is not defending the people. On
the contrary, through prisons, executions, censorship, poverty and fear,
it is defending its own rule.
Against
these two forces, the prisoners’ campaign points to another path: the
path of people’s resistance, solidarity and the defense of human
dignity.
Every
Tuesday, prisoners who have very little control over their own bodies
use the only weapon left to them: collective refusal. A one-day protest
hunger strike says that the victims of repression will not remain
silent. It says that those sentenced to death are not merely numbers.
They are human beings with names, families, histories and rights. It
says that the gallows must not be normalised.
The prisoners of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign
must be supported. We support the families who wait outside prisons,
often without any information, frequently under threat, and who are
sometimes even denied the bodies of their loved ones after execution. We
support everyone in Iran who opposes the death penalty, whether the
prisoner is political or non-political. The right to life must not
depend on the charge written by the regime’s courts.
We
call on progressive, democratic, anti-imperialist and human rights
forces everywhere to raise the voice of this campaign. The names of
those sentenced to death must be made public. Families must not be left
alone. Trade unions, student groups, women’s organisations, writers,
artists, lawyers and political organisations must take up this cause.
Silence serves the executioner. Publicising these cases can save lives.
The demand is simple and urgent:
End all executions in Iran.
Cancel all death sentences.
Free political prisoners.
End torture and forced confessions.
Defend the right to life.
Every
Tuesday must become a day of solidarity with prisoners in Iran. Every
execution must be met with protest. Every name must be remembered. Every
prison wall must hear that those inside are not alone.
The
prisoners have kept this campaign alive for 127 weeks. It must now
become our duty to carry their voice beyond the prison walls.
Support the prisoners of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign!
UPOTUDAK- International Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoner
Jeden Dienstag sagen Gefangene im Iran Nein zu Hinrichtungen!
