‘No to Execution Tuesdays’ Campaign Continues for 122nd Week Across 56 Iranian Prisons
Written by
Safora Sadidi Mohammadi
The “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign announced the continuation of its nationwide protest movement for the 122nd consecutive week, warning of an escalating wave of executions in Iran and calling on international bodies to take urgent action against the Iranian regime’s use of the death penalty.
In a statement released on Tuesday, May 26, members of the campaign confirmed that prisoners in 56 prisons across Iran had joined coordinated hunger strikes in protest against recent executions and the increasing number of death sentences issued against political prisoners and protesters.
According to the statement, several prisoners were executed in recent days, including political prisoners and Kurdish inmates Ramin Zalleh and Karim Yaghoubpour, as well as Abbas Akbari Faizabadi, who had reportedly been arrested during the January 2026 uprising.
“The wave of political executions continues,” the campaign declared.
The statement also reported the execution of Mojtaba Kian on espionage charges, emphasizing that such accusations are routinely used without guaranteeing defendants access to fair trials or legal protections.
Campaign organizers said that at least 72 people have been executed in Iran since the beginning of the Persian New Year, including more than 25 political or security-related prisoners.
“Tens and hundreds of other nameless and unidentified prisoners are under death sentences in various prisons,” the statement warned.
The campaign further expressed alarm over several recently confirmed death sentences, including those against political prisoner Manouchehr Fallah in Lakan Prison of Rasht, Rouhollah Karaki in Sheiban Prison of Ahvaz, and defendants connected to the “Ekbatan Town” case — Milad Armoun, Navid Najjaran, Mehdi Imani, and Seyed Mohammad Mehdi Hosseini.
The statement warns that the lives of these prisoners are “severely in danger.”
The statement also focused on the role of women prisoners and female activists in the anti-execution movement. The campaign praised women detained in Iranian prisons, particularly those in the women’s ward of Evin Prison, who reportedly chant anti-execution slogans every Tuesday despite facing punishment from prison authorities.
“The regime cannot even tolerate the voices of women, because misogyny is one of the main pillars of the ruling establishment since day one,” the statement said.
The campaign noted that women prisoners participating in weekly protests have reportedly been denied visitation rights and telephone contact with their families.
The statement also linked the current movement to broader anti-regime protests in Iran over recent years, including the December 2017–January 2018 protests, the November 2019 uprising, the 2022 uprising, and the December 2025–January 2026 protests.
Campaign members said women have consistently been among the “primary social forces” in these movements and in the broader struggle against executions and political repression.
The statement also referenced growing international criticism of Iran’s execution record. It cited recent condemnations issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, as well as by Amnesty International and the European Parliament.
According to the campaign, international institutions have urged governments to condition political relations with Iran on halting executions and ending repression.
“We once again call upon international human rights bodies and awakened consciences to prevent the continuation of inhumane executions by employing effective measures,” the statement said.
The “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign confirmed that prisoners participating in the 122nd week of hunger strikes are held in dozens of facilities across the country, including Evin Prison, Ghezel Hesar Prison, Greater Tehran Prison, Qarchak Prison, Sheiban Prison, Adelabad Prison, Urmia Prison, and prisons in cities including Mashhad, Sanandaj, Zahedan, Tabriz, Ardabil, Rasht, and Kermanshah.
The coordinated hunger strike on Tuesday marks one of the longest-running organized prison protest movements in Iran focused specifically on opposing executions and defending prisoners facing capital punishment.