Warning from the 'No to Execution Tuesdays' Campaign: 1,021 Executions by Gallows Since February 11 Last Year

The 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign warned on Tuesday, February 23, in its fifty-fifth statement, that since February 11, 2023, more than 1,021 people have been executed solely by hanging. The imprisoned members of this campaign in 35 prisons across the country expressed concern over the death sentence of Pejman Soltani, a Kurdish political prisoner arrested during the protests of 2024. This political prisoner was sentenced to death for the alleged murder of a 'Basij agent' in an 'unfair trial' by Branch 1 of the Urmia Criminal Court. The statement also announced that the request for retrial of Pakhshan Azizi, a political prisoner whose death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court, has been rejected, and he is now at risk of execution. The 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign warned that if Pakhshan Azizi is transferred from the general ward for execution, more serious measures will be taken to counter this inhumane execution. The campaign has called on all people and human rights activists to stand against the execution by any means possible, stating, 'This is a test for all of us, and we must not allow ourselves to mourn for another prisoner.' The statement also emphasized that several political prisoners in the women's ward and Ward 8 of Evin Prison, who protested and chanted against the death sentences and the forced transfer of two political prisoners, Behrouz Ehsani and Mahdi Hasani, are facing visitation bans. The 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign reiterated that its members in 35 prisons across the country condemn all death sentences in Iran with a united voice and will shout 'No to Execution' with resistance and steadfastness. The statement also warned that the government uses executions as a tool to maintain its survival and suppress society, rather than to administer justice. Therefore, the campaign has called on international organizations, human rights groups, and the global community to take immediate action to stop these crimes. According to this statement, in the fifty-fifth week of the 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign, prisoners in 35 prisons across the country will go on hunger strike on Tuesday, February 23, 2024. The names of the participating prisons in the hunger strike are as follows: Evin Prison, Qezel Hesar Prison, Central Prison of Karaj, Greater Tehran Prison, Khourin Varamin Prison, Arak Prison, Khorramabad Prison, Asadabad Isfahan Prison, Dashtgerd Isfahan Prison, Shiban Ahvaz Prison, Sepidar Ahvaz Prison, Nazem Shiraz Prison, Adelabad Shiraz Prison, Borazjan Prison, Ramhormoz Prison, Bam Prison, Kahnouj Prison, Tabas Prison, Jovin Prison, Mashhad Prison, Gonbad Kavous Prison, Qaemshahr Prison, Rasht Prison, Rudsar Prison, Haviq Talesh Prison, Ardabil Prison, Tabriz Prison, Urmia Prison, Salmas Prison, Khoy Prison, Naqdeh Prison, Saqez Prison, Baneh Prison, Marivan Prison, Kamyaran Prison. Mahmoud Amiri Moghaddam: 'No to Execution Tuesdays' is a turning point in the struggles of the Iranian people. The expansion of the 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign to 35 prisons. The hunger strike of Zartosht Ahmadiraghab in protest against executions, inflation, and injustice. The beginning of the second year of the 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign: the gallows must be dismantled.