Campaign 'Tuesdays No to Execution' Expands with Involvement of Prisoners from 'Greater Tehran': The Government of Behdarvand is a 'Cabinet of Suppression and Execution'

With the expansion of the campaign 'Tuesdays No to Execution', formed by a group of political prisoners in Iran, several prisoners from 'Greater Tehran Prison' have also joined this campaign. Political prisoners involved in the anti-execution campaign announced on Tuesday, September 6, coinciding with the thirty-first week of this campaign, that a group of political prisoners in Greater Tehran Prison has joined and that 'two members of the Italian Parliament' have expressed support for this human rights campaign. The names of these Italian representatives were not mentioned in the statement. The issuers of the statement welcomed the hearing of the 'voice of resistance' of the 'Tuesdays No to Execution' campaign by 'awakened consciences' around the world, stating that 'some prominent Italian representatives' have declared their support for this campaign. In a part of the statement referring to the formation of the fourteenth government led by Masoud Behdarvand, it was said: 'Given the intensification of repression and the background of the cabinet members who were appointed last week, the new cabinet can be called a cabinet of suppression and execution and seen as a precursor to further repression of society.' Participants in this human rights campaign criticized the execution of 'at least 126 prisoners in August', reported on the 'pressures and suppressions of the religious government' against activists of this campaign, and emphasized their 'resistance and steadfastness' against executions, stating: 'Despite all the pressures and suppressions that the religious government has imposed on this campaign and Iranian society, prisoners continue to resist and stand against suppression and execution.' The statement also mentioned the 'deprivation of female prisoners in Evin Prison from the right to phone calls and visits' and the transfer of Armita Paveer, a political prisoner held in Tabriz prison, to solitary confinement as examples of pressures on participants in the anti-execution campaign. The participants in the anti-execution campaign, consisting of prisoners 'in 19 prisons of the Islamic Republic', called on other prisoners and 'all awakened consciences' of the world to join this campaign for 'the abolition of execution and opposition to it.' Simultaneously, 68 Iranian and international human rights organizations also announced their support for the 'Tuesdays Without Execution' movement in a joint statement. According to the statement, these human rights organizations reported that from August 11 to August 30, on average, one person was executed every six hours. The statement noted that since 2021, the number of executions has 'increased' each year; to the extent that 'at least 834 people were hanged last year.' Amnesty International reported that the Islamic Republic was responsible for 74% of the recorded executions worldwide last year. The executed included ethnic minorities, especially Baluchis, women, and individuals who were minors at the time of the crime. Rasul Nafisi stated: 'Public execution is brutal, humiliating, and inhumane and does not create deterrence.' Dozens of human rights organizations and institutions supported the 'Tuesdays Without Execution' movement. The execution of a Baluchi prisoner in Zahedan Central Prison was carried out; the accused had previously stated, 'I am not a killer.' An execution was carried out in public; people in Shahroud began their day by watching the gallows.