Political prisoners in Iran mark 113th week of ‘No to Executions Tuesdays’ campaign amidst a record executions

2026-03-24 - 15:21

On March 24, 2026, political prisoners across 56 facilities in Iran held the 113th week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” hunger strike. The campaign issued a statement dedicating its strike to the victims of the state’s severe crackdowns, particularly those killed during the January 2026 (Dey 1404) uprisings. “We hope the year 1405 [2026] will be the year of Iran’s freedom, an Iran without torture and execution,” the prisoners wrote, thanking independent media, teachers, retirees, workers, and human rights advocates who have amplified the voices of death row inmates. The prisoners’ strike follows a year of unprecedented capital punishment. According to compiled statistics, Iran recorded at least 2,657 executions during the Persian year 1404 (March 2025 to March 2026), marking the highest number of executions in three decades. This figure is more than double the 1,159 executions recorded the previous year. The victims in the past year included 2,552 men executed in prison, 10 men hanged in public, 68 women, eight juvenile offenders, and 22 political prisoners. Executions peaked in November and December 2025 (Azar) with 376 cases. While the reported number dropped to 65 in the final month of the year (February to March 2026), this decrease coincides with severe internet disruptions and wartime censorship, indicating that the actual figures of secret executions are likely much higher. The campaign highlighted the regime’s continuous use of capital punishment even during the holiday season. “The execution state has hanged over 2,650 of our compatriots across the country in the past year,” the statement read. “Cruelly, on the eve of Nowruz, [the state] executed three brave youths named Mehdi Ghasemi, Saeed Davoodi, and Saleh Mohammadi, who were arrested during the Dey protests in Qom, and hanged another prisoner named Kourosh Keyvani on espionage charges in Karaj Central Prison.” Within the prisons, conditions have deteriorated rapidly. The campaign reported that dozens of inmates in Chabahar Prison were killed and injured by guards last week after protesting severe food shortages. Furthermore, prisoners face a “double danger” due to ongoing bombardments and a severe lack of medical care. This physical violence is compounded by systemic communications blackouts, which prevented the campaign from publishing its statements for weeks 111 and 112. The drastic escalation in executions demonstrates the regime’s fear of an explosive society facing severe economic and political crises. However, the mass use of the death penalty to instill terror ultimately failed to deter the public, as evidenced by the resurgence of nationwide protests in January 2026. Condemning these “arbitrary and criminal executions aimed at creating fear and terror in society,” the striking prisoners issued an urgent plea to the international community: “We ask the United Nations, various countries, and human rights organizations to pressure the Iranian government so that at least the rights of prisoners are respected, especially those arrested in recent months who are under torture in news silence and internet blackouts, and are in danger of receiving execution sentences.” The prisoners participating in the 113th week of the hunger strike are located in 56 facilities, including: Evin Prison (men’s and women’s wards), Ghezel Hesar Prison (units 2, 3, and 4), Karaj Central Prison, Fardis Karaj, Greater Tehran, Qarchak, Khorin Varamin, Chobindar Qazvin, Ahar, Arak, Langarud Qom, Khorramabad, Borujerd, Yasuj, Asadabad Isfahan, Dastgerd Isfahan, Sheiban Ahvaz, Sepidar Ahvaz (men’s and women’s wards), Nezam Shiraz, Adelabad Shiraz (men’s and women’s wards), Firuzabad Fars, Dehdasht, Zahedan (men’s and women’s wards), Borazjan, Ramhormoz, Behbahan, Bam, Yazd (men’s and women’s wards), Kahnuj, Tabas, Birjand Central, Mashhad, Gorgan, Sabzevar, Gonbad-e Kavus, Qaemshahr, Rasht (men’s and women’s wards), Rudsar, Haviq Talesh, Azbaram Lahijan, Dizel Abad Kermanshah, Ardabil, Tabriz, Urmia, Salmas, Khoy, Naqadeh, Miandoab, Mahabad, Bukan, Saqqez, Baneh, Marivan, Sanandaj, Kamyaran, and Ilam.