Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb from Prison: Iran Will Achieve Justice and Democracy

On the eve of the first anniversary of the "No to Execution Tuesdays" campaign, political prisoner Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb emphasized that "the great nation of Iran deserves human rights, freedom, justice, and democracy" and will achieve it. Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb, a political prisoner who was among the initiators of this human rights campaign that began on January 30, 2023, at the initiative of a group of political and civil activists imprisoned in Qazal Hesar prison, stated in an audio message from prison received by Voice of America on Thursday, February 23, that the Islamic Republic aims to create "fear" in society through "suppression, execution, imprisonment, and censorship." This imprisoned human rights activist noted the one-year activity of this anti-execution campaign, stating: "With the perseverance and courage of political prisoners in Qazal Hesar, we have completed 52 weeks of the No to Execution Tuesdays campaign; greetings to these comrades! We want to work together with the belief in solidarity to end the cycle of violence." He also emphasized the support of "Iranians inside and outside the country," stating that the end of the cycle of violence can be achieved through this solidarity and continuity. Mr. Ahmadi Raghb also mentioned that on the eve of the first anniversary of the No to Execution Tuesdays campaign, last year, several political prisoners in Qazal Hesar, some of whom had "executed members in their families" or "had executed cellmates" or had experienced solitary confinement with prisoners on death row, "came together" and demanded, "without discrimination and division," that "death sentences and their execution be halted." Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb further noted the years of protests against executions in the Islamic Republic, adding that the campaign against executions "is not a specific idea or opinion of an individual, but we will continue together and strive to stop not only death sentences and their execution but also to overthrow the tyranny and its aides, because the great nation of Iran deserves human rights, freedom, justice, and democracy, and we will achieve it." Previously, Reza Mohammadi, another political prisoner who initiated the No to Execution Tuesdays campaign, also known as "Black Tuesdays," emphasized in a message from prison that the "execution regime" will be handed over to justice. In February of last year, ten political prisoners imprisoned in Qazal Hesar prison in Alborz province announced that from now on, every Tuesday, in protest against executions, under the title "Black Tuesdays" or "No to Execution Tuesdays," they would conduct a group hunger strike to draw public attention to executions in the prisons of the Islamic Republic in Iran. According to a special report from the Persian section of Voice of America on January 30, 2023, "Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb, Jafar Ebrahimi, Ahmadreza Haeri, Laghman Aminpour, Meysam Dehban Zadeh, Saeed Masouri, Reza Mohammadi, Reza Salmani Zadeh, Hamzeh Savari, and Sepehr Imam Jom'e" were the first prisoners to announce that they would go on hunger strike on Tuesdays in protest against the execution process. This campaign later received support from prisoners in dozens of prisons across the Islamic Republic and attracted the attention of human rights organizations. Among them, Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, described the "No to Execution Tuesdays" campaign as "the result of not surrendering to pressure and repression" and also "emphasizing unity and collective action." Narges Mohammadi, a political prisoner and member of the No to Execution Tuesdays campaign, currently on medical leave, stated today, Thursday, February 23, in a virtual meeting with the Women's Rights Committee in the French Senate and representatives of the French Parliament: "The gallows have been raised by executioners in prisons across my homeland, and every day in this land, the heads of young people hang from the gallows." The No to Execution Tuesdays campaign condemned the issuance of death sentences against a prisoner accused of rebellion in the women’s prison of Lakan Rasht. Letters from Reza Mohammadi from prison: "Execution cannot silence voices." A warning from 12 political prisoners about a "humanitarian disaster" in Qazal Hesar. A letter from two political prisoners to Prince Reza Pahlavi: "Remain the united voice of the Iranian nation."