Campaign 'No to Executions on Tuesdays': Over 450 Executions Since the Start of the New Government

Members of the 'No to Executions on Tuesdays' campaign from 25 prisons across the country issued a statement in the 42nd week of this campaign, warning that the judiciary of the Islamic Republic has recently issued death sentences for several political prisoners and those accused of espionage; including Varisheh Moradi, a Kurdish woman in Evin prison, and Nasser Bakrzadeh in Urmia prison, who have been sentenced to death on political charges. The statement noted: The heavy shadow of executions continues to loom over prisoners in Iran's prisons, and the pace of executions is intensifying. Since the beginning of November, over 103 people, including 2 women, have been executed; on average, 5 people are hanged daily. According to this campaign, since the new government took office, more than 450 people have been executed, which is considered the most significant and simultaneously the bitterest outcome of the new government's actions. Members of the campaign warned that in recent months, Iran's judiciary has increased its repression statistics by issuing and carrying out death sentences. Recently, two prisoners were sentenced to death on political and espionage charges in Evin and Urmia prisons. Varisheh Moradi, a political prisoner and Kurdish woman in Evin prison, has been sentenced to death on the charge of 'baghi'; also, Nasser Bakrzadeh has been sentenced to death for espionage by Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court in Urmia. The statement added that three other prisoners named Idris Ali, Azad Shojaei, and Rasoul Ahmad Mohammad have also been sentenced to death by the same branch. The authors of the statement warned that in Shayban prison in Ahvaz, four Arab prisoners named Ali Majdam, Moein Khonfari, Mohammadreza Moghaddam, and Adnan Ghabishavi, who were transferred to quarantine two weeks ago for execution, are in very poor conditions. The authors emphasized that in protest against this inhumane situation, three of them have gone on hunger strike, and their lives are in serious danger. This statement declared that the issuance of death sentences for women like Varisheh Moradi and Pakhshan Azizi, as well as the issuance of dozens of death sentences for ethnic minorities such as Kurds, Baluchis, and Arabs, along with violations of fair trial rights, is considered a form of hostage-taking to suppress public protests. Furthermore, the statement condemned this process of 'hostage-taking through the issuance of death sentences' and emphasized the need for public resistance against this inhumane action. The authors of this statement commemorated the fifth anniversary of the November 2019 uprising, honoring the memory of over 1500 victims of these protests and paying tribute to the resilience of their families in pursuing justice. Members of the 'No to Executions on Tuesdays' campaign continue their hunger strike on November 22, 2024, in the 42nd week of this campaign, across 25 different prisons. The Dastgerd prison in Isfahan is the twenty-fifth prison that joined this campaign last week. The names of these prisons include: Evin (women's ward, wards 4 and 8), Qezel Hesaar (units 3 and 4), Central Karaj, Greater Tehran, Arak, Khorramabad, Asadabad Isfahan, Shayban Ahvaz, Nazem Shiraz, Bam, Kahnouj, Mashhad, Qaemshahr, Lakan Rasht (men's and women's wards), Ardabil, Tabriz, Urmia, Salmas, Khoy, Naqdeh, Saqqez, Baneh, Marivan, Kamyaran, and Dastgerd Isfahan.