Ghezelhesar Prison Denies Eight Sunni Inmates Phone, Visit Rights

Officials at Ghezelhesar Prison have cut off phone and visitation rights for eight Sunni prisoners who recently joined the ongoing "No to Execution Tuesdays" campaign.

The crackdown is the latest escalation in the prison authority's attempts to suppress the long-running anti-execution movement at Ghezelhesar.

Throughout the 20-week campaign, prison officials have applied pressure and harassment tactics against participating inmates.

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 Ghezel Hesar, which reported numerous executions.

In the 20th 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 Naqadeh 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 executions in the last eight years, with the judiciary of the Islamic Republic executing 853 people in 2023 alone.