Iranians Rally Behind #NoToExecution Hashtag

Many Iranians, including activists and prisoners’ relatives, have expressed support behind the decision by dozens of political women incarcerated in Tehran’s Evin prison to launch a hunger strike this week to protest executions in the country.

The hashtag #NoToExecution was trending among Iranian social media users after a message posted on the X account of jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi announced that 61 women political prisoners in Evin will go on a hunger strike on January 25.

“The imprisoned women, to keep the names of the executed alive and to [save] hundreds of individuals in the prisons of the Islamic Republic awaiting execution, will resist,” the message reads.

61 women political-prisoners in Evin, in protest against executions and to stop executions, are going on a hunger strike.
on Tuesday Iran witnessed the hanging of its youth. #MohammadGhobadlou was hanged under circumstances where even a final verdict for execution did not exist pic.twitter.com/86VSxCEUU6

— Narges Mohamadi (@freenargesmhmd) January 24, 2024

The announcement followed the arbitrary execution of Mohammad Ghobadlou, a 23-year-old protester with a mental disability who was sentenced to death for allegedly killing a police officer during nationwide protests in September 2022. 

The defendant faced an unfair trial marred by torture allegations, and appeals to take into account his mental health condition were rejected. 

His execution was the ninth in connection with the Woman, Life, Freedom protest movement.

According to a message posted on protest rapper Toomaj Salehi's X page, the artist “will join the hunger strike initiated by 61 women prisoners in Evin."

Hassan Homayoun, the husband of an imprisoned journalist, wrote, "In solidarity with my wife Saeedeh Shafiei and the 60 women prisoners in Evin, I will refrain from eating or drinking and will join their strike."

Khodarahm Qolyian, the father of jailed activist Sepideh Qolyian, announced that he will also join the protest action.

 "We will not remain silent, and the families will join the women's strike in prison,” he wrote.

On January 24, a group of Iranians gathered in Toronto. Milad Mohammadi, the brother of Shahriar Mohammadi, a victim of the bloody state crackdown on the 2022 nationwide protests in Iran, urged Canadian Iranians to join the hunger strike.