Iranian Prisoners’ Anti-Execution Campaign Reaches 32nd Week

Iranwire – The “No Execution Tuesdays” campaign, a prisoner-led initiative against capital punishment in Iran, has entered its 32nd consecutive week. 

This Tuesday, inmates in Bam and Isfahan prisons participated in the campaign, expanding its reach to 21 prisons in the country.

The growth comes as the country approaches the anniversary of the 2022 protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in custody.

The campaign against executions, led by prisoners who have been going on hunger strike for 32 weeks each Tuesday, has gained support. 

In the past week alone, 68 Iranian and international human rights organizations have endorsed the campaign, which now spans 21 prisons across the country. 

These prisoners, including those in Evin, Qezelhesar, and the Great Tehran Prison, continue to condemn the use of the death penalty and call for an end to it.

On Tuesday, coinciding with the hunger strike of hundreds of prisoners participating in the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign, a prisoner was executed in Sabzevar.

The weekly hunger strike began in February this year comprising prisoners from various Iranian jails.

The number of executions in Iran reached 853 in 2023, which is the highest recorded since 2015 and marks a 48 percent increase from 2022 in the aftermath of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests.

The spike in death penalties has continued into 2024, with at least 95 recorded executions till March 20, according to Amnesty International.