Campaign of 'No to Execution Tuesdays': The Authoritarian Regime Seeks to Create Fear

The campaign 'No to Execution Tuesdays' on Tuesday, December 6, declared in a statement that the issuance of 'mass execution sentences' is a 'strategy of the authoritarian regime of Iran to instill terror.' The statement, a copy of which was received by Voice of America, noted: 'While Iranian society faces numerous and complex livelihood issues and the government has reached a deadlock in resolving them, it sees the increase in executions as the only solution out of fear of widespread popular protests.' In this context, the 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign pointed out that 'at least 25 people have been executed in just the past week.' According to the statement, last month, 'the government mourned hundreds of families by executing more than 140 individuals; these sentences have no deterrent effect and are aimed not at punishing individuals, but politically intended to create fear and oppression in society.' In this regard, the HRANA news agency reported on Friday, December 1, that in November alone, at least 133 instances of execution were recorded, including one public execution, 24 convictions, and seven confirmed death sentences. The 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign, referring to the issuance of 'mass execution sentences' for six defendants in the Ekbatan case, stated that these actions should be seen as part of the 'government's assessment and strategy to prevent the onset or escalation of protests by the beleaguered Iranian people.' The campaign added: 'In a repressive move, the authoritarian government has recently issued inhumane death sentences for two Kurdish political prisoners in Urmia Central Prison; Mehran Hassan-Zadeh, who was arrested during the 2021 protests, and Hamid Abdollah-Zadeh.' The campaign's statement emphasizes that the issuance of these sentences coincides with the 71st condemnation of the Iranian government by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly for gross human rights violations. The statement also mentioned the transfer of four Arab political prisoners sentenced to death from Shiban Prison in Ahvaz to solitary confinement, adding that it has been nearly 40 days since the situation of Adnan Ghabishavi, Ali Majdam, Moein Ghanfari, and Mohammad-Reza Moghadam has been completely unknown, warning that their lives are 'in serious danger.' Recent reports received by Voice of America indicate that the follow-up and sit-in of the families of these political prisoners in front of Sepidar and Shiban prisons have yielded no results, and judicial officials have refused to respond to them. According to these reports, this behavior of the judicial officials has caused severe concern among the families of these prisoners. The 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign condemned all executions, the unjust court processes, and the blatant violation of human rights in Iran, warning of the serious escalation of executions and calling on all institutions and individuals worldwide, including political, human rights, civil, and professional activists, to make greater efforts to save the lives of prisoners under death sentences in Iran. The statement emphasized that 'we continue to stress the need for collective action and solidarity to stop the killing machine.' The statement also notes that members of the 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign are on hunger strike in 25 different prisons for 44 consecutive weeks in protest against death sentences in Iran. This hunger strike continues in Evin Prison (women's section and wards 4 and 8), Qezel Hesar Karaj (units 3 and 4), Karaj Central Prison, Greater Tehran Prison, Arak, Khorramabad, Asadabad Isfahan, Shiban Ahvaz, Shiraz, Bam, Kahnouj, Mashhad, Qaemshahr, Rasht (men's and women's sections), Ardabil, Tabriz, Urmia, Salmas, Khoy, Naqdeh, Saqqez, Baneh, Marivan, and Kamyaran.