Support for the 'Black Tuesdays' Campaign at the Virtual Meeting Against the Death Penalty

On the eve of the World Day Against the Death Penalty and in the thirty-seventh week of the hunger strike of prisoners in the 'Black Tuesdays' campaign, a group of organizations and human rights activists on Tuesday, October 9, held a 24-hour live program opposing the issuance and execution of death sentences by the Islamic Republic in Iran, supporting this campaign. The program, broadcast live by Iran Human Rights from their YouTube channel, featured a group of human rights activists discussing human rights violations in Iran and the increasing issuance and execution of sentences against citizens. Notable figures such as Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mehrangiz Kar, a lawyer and human rights activist, Kouser Otkhari, a human rights activist and victim of the 2021 protests, Shohreh Pakrovan, the mother of the executed prisoner Reyhaneh Jabbari, and Mahmoud Amiri Moghaddam, a human rights activist and director of Iran Human Rights, spoke at the meeting. Shirin Ebadi emphasized the need to amplify the 'voice of opposition to the illegal death penalty' while discussing the evolution of the 'No to Execution' movement since the 1979 revolution. Mehrangiz Kar pointed out that the Islamic Republic ranks first in executions globally, alongside China. She noted that 'the most pressing issue for opponents of the death penalty worldwide is the irreversibility of punishment in case of judicial error.' Kouser Otkhari stated that the widespread executions by the Islamic Republic are not limited to protesters, highlighting that the death penalty in drug-related crimes often targets the poor and marginalized. She stressed the need for Western governments to adhere to human rights values and resist the Islamic Republic's executions. Additionally, Shohreh Pakrovan remarked that 'the demand to end executions is becoming a national demand' and called for special attention to executions related to retribution and drug offenses. Mahmoud Amiri Moghaddam read a message from Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights defender in Iran, stating that 'the worst type of tyranny is the reckless use of the death penalty.' Sotoudeh referred to the death sentences for Sharifeh Mohammadi and Pakhshan Azizi as 'the Islamic Republic's revenge against the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.' Furthermore, political prisoner Narges Mohammadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, emphasized in a message to the 'No to Execution' meeting that the Islamic Republic has intensified 'the suppression and execution amid the clamor of war drums' and that 'every day passes with the fear of war and the terror of execution and imprisonment.' She added that 'the statistics of executions are not annual' but are 'announced monthly at a terrifying pace,' stating, 'We need a loud voice from around the world for a No to Execution' and 'we expect impactful global support from human rights circles for opponents of the death penalty in Iran.' The 24-hour program supporting the 'No to Execution' campaign was organized by Iran Human Rights and the Global Campaign Against the Death Penalty in Iran, featuring a significant number of Iranian and international organizations and activists on October 9. Simultaneously, the thirty-seventh round of the hunger strike of prisoners in the 'No to Execution' campaign took place in 22 prisons across Iran. Members of this campaign announced in a statement that on October 1 and 2, at least 30 individuals were executed in various Iranian prisons by the Islamic Republic's judicial authorities, including three women. Additionally, 'Mahmoud Dahmarde,' a death row prisoner in Zabol prison, died due to a heart attack and lack of medical care. The prisoners involved in this campaign have called on domestic and international political, civil, and human rights organizations to take action to 'save the lives of death row inmates in Iran' and urged the global community to hold 'the leaders of the Iranian regime accountable for four decades of crimes against humanity and the massacre of prisoners.' The hunger strike on Tuesday served as a protest action by members of this campaign, taking place this Tuesday in Evin prison (women's ward and wards 4 and 8), Qezel Hesar prison (units 3 and 4), Central Karaj prison, Greater Tehran, Khorramabad, Arak, Asadabad Isfahan, Shiraz, Bam, Mashhad, Lakan Rasht (women's and men's wards), Qaemshahr, Ardabil, Tabriz, Urmia, Salmas, Khoy, Naqdeh, Saqqez, Baneh, Marivan, and Kamyaran prison.