Iranian Prisoners' Anti-Death Penalty Campaign Expands

June 4, 2024

1 min read

For the past 19 weeks, prisoners across various Iranian prisons have been actively participating in a civil campaign against the death penalty

For the past 19 weeks, prisoners across various Iranian prisons have been actively participating in a civil campaign against the death penalty.

In the campaign's 19th week, eight political and religious prisoners from Ward 3 of Ghezelhesar Prison joined their ranks.

A letter received by IranWire from the campaign members outlines the reasons behind this movement.

The campaign was launched in response to a surge in executions.

In February, a group of ordinary prisoners from Ghezelhesar highlighted their dire conditions and called for support from all prisoners nationwide.

Political prisoners quickly recognized the execution of ordinary prisoners as a precursor to their own, intended to suppress and intimidate society while diverting attention from political executions.

This solidarity led to widespread support from political prisoners in Ghezelhesar and beyond.

The campaign members referenced a recent video showing the harsh realities faced by ordinary prisoners in Ward 1 of Ghezelhesar, which reported numerous executions.

In the 19th week of the "No to Execution Tuesdays" campaign, eight Sunni ideological and political prisoners from Unit Ward of Ghezelhesar joined the campaign by sending a supportive message.

Prisoners in Ghezelhesar, Evin, Central Karaj, Khorramabad, Khoy, and Naqdeh prisons have been on a hunger strike for 19 weeks each Tuesday.

The striking prisoners demand attention to their plight and support from the broader community.

According to a report by Amnesty International, Iran has reached its highest level of death sentence execution in the last eight years, with the judiciary of the Islamic Republic executing 853 people in 2023 alone.

The report indicates that 481 executions, more than half of the total, were related to drug crimes. This marks an 89 percent increase in the death penalty compared to 2022, when 255 people were executed for drug-related offenses.

The latest numbers also show a 264 percent increase compared to 2021, when 132 individuals faced execution for similar charges.