Campaign of Tuesdays Against Executions: The World Must Act to Stop the Killing Machine

Prisoners participating in the fifty-eighth week of the 'Tuesdays Against Executions' campaign have called for 'more serious and urgent actions from the awakened consciences of the world to stop the killing machine' in Iran. In their statement, a copy of which was received by Voice of America on Tuesday, March 14, they announced that a number of prisoners in Miandoab prison have joined this campaign and gone on hunger strike. Thus, the number of participating prisons in the campaign has increased to 38. The participating prisoners in the 'Tuesdays Against Executions' campaign stated that 'the oppressive government ruling Iran has executed 85 individuals just two weeks into March.' According to this statement, 'at least 53 individuals were executed last week, 24 of whom were Kurds and Baluchs, and one was brutally hanged in public in Esfarayen.' The campaign emphasized: 'These brutal executions, especially on the eve of Nowruz, which causes mourning for hundreds of Iranians, rightly demonstrate that this medieval government has no goal other than creating terror in society and only seeks to postpone its own end through repression, torture, and executions.' The 'Tuesdays Against Executions' campaign noted that 'in response to these government violences against the defenseless people of Iran, many compatriots and free individuals across Iran and the world have joined the campaign alongside committed prisoners in various prisons and condemned the criminal executions in Iran.' The participating prisoners in this week's statement called for 'more serious and urgent actions from the awakened consciences of the world to stop the killing machine.' The 'Tuesdays Against Executions' campaign has continued in its fifty-eighth week in Evin prisons (women's section, blocks 4 and 8) and Qezel Hesar (units 2, 3, and 4), as well as in Karaj Central Prison, Greater Tehran Prison, Khorin Varamin Prison, Chubindar Prison in Qazvin, Arak Prison, Khorramabad Prison, Asadabad Isfahan Prison, Dastgerd Isfahan Prison, and the Sheiban and Sepidar prisons in Ahvaz. Other participating prisons in the hunger strike include Nazem and Adlabad prisons in Shiraz (men's and women's sections), Borazjan Prison, Ramhormoz Prison, Bam Prison, Kahnouj Prison, Tabas Prison, Jowin Prison, Mashhad Prison, Gonbad Kavous Prison, Qaemshahr Prison, Rasht Prison (men's and women's sections), Rudsar Prison, Haviq Talesh Prison, Dieselabad Kermanshah Prison, Ardabil Prison, Tabriz Prison, Urmia Prison, Salmas Prison, Khoy Prison, Naqdeh Prison, Saqez Prison, Baneh Prison, Marivan Prison, Kamyaran Prison, and Miandoab Prison. Meanwhile, in continued support for the 'Tuesdays Against Executions' campaign, a group of drafters and signatories of the 'Charter of Freedom, Welfare, Equality' stated in a statement that they consider executions as a deprivation of the right to life from humans, writing: 'We believe that no government under any circumstances has the right to take this natural and undeniable right from any human being.' They referred to 'the claims of theorists, lawmakers, perpetrators, and supporters of executions' that this punishment 'has an impact on reducing crime and thus justifies the deprivation of the right to life from humans and has codified it into law,' emphasizing: 'So far, no universal and credible statistics or evidence has shown the validity of this claim.' The statement noted: 'Governments, including especially authoritarian governments like the Islamic Republic, use this state-sponsored murder and intentional killing as a means to achieve a political goal, which is to create fear and terror in society to suppress any freedom-seeking and anti-dictatorial movement.' The statement stressed that 'executions, under any title and with any justification, are an organized crime against humanity, and supporting and insisting on their implementation and continuation only fuels the cycle of systematic and repugnant killings of humans.' The 'Charter of Freedom, Welfare, Equality' pointed out that in its fifth clause, it calls for the abolition of the death penalty and added that it has acted in its Telegram channel to promote the demand for the abolition of the death penalty.