After videos were posted of death row prisoners occupying the corridor of Ward 2 in Iran’s largest prison that went on hunger strike for 7 days, and protests against executions by families outside the prison gates and in front of Parliament, Ghezel Hesar Prison authorities made concessions so as to end the strike. They promised a 6-month suspension of executions at Ghezel Hesar, returned to general population six prisoners who had been transferred to solitary cells for executions, and according to some reports, will “review” or “discuss” how the death penalty has been applied. The striking Ward 2 prisoners, who are mostly charged with so-called “non-political crimes,” pledged to join the political prisoners, mostly in Ward 4, in the “Tuesday No to Executions” weekly hunger strike, now in its 91^st consecutive week, having spread to 52 prisons across Iran.

As Iran’s prisoners' support movement in Europe Burn the Cage stated,

This achievement is a clear result of resistance, perseverance, and unity of prisoners, as well as solidarity outside of prison. This was a good success and achievement for the prisoners, but the voice of no execution should be the concern of all people to force this criminal regime to retreat.

The scale and urgency of the strike by prisoners in Ward 2 has galvanized broad support society-wide, and important steps, albeit still small, toward more mass struggle around the issue.

On October 20, 800 prominent Iranians in the civil, political, and cultural fields signed a solidarity statement for the protests and hunger strike of Ghezel Hesar prisoners against executions. The signers include world-renowned director/screenwriter Jafar Panahi and actress Taraneh Alidousti (both of them briefly imprisoned for dissident expressions); current political prisoner Reza Khandan; and ex-prisoners Narges Mohammadi, Nahid Taghavi, Taghi Rahmani, Atena Daemi, Sepideh Gholian and Keyvan Samimi. By signing their names, many of them, especially those inside Iran, are risking revenge, censorship, imprisonment, even death, from the Islamic Republic. It reads:

At a time when Iranian society is gripped by profound social, economic, and political crises, the Islamic Republic—rather than addressing the roots of these crises—has turned the death penalty into an unprecedented instrument of control and repression.

The widespread wave of executions, especially in Ghezel Hesar Prison, reflects the moral and judicial collapse of the legal system and its blatant disregard for human dignity.

For over a year, the courageous civil campaign “Tuesdays Against Execution” has been taking place inside Ghezel Hesar—a spontaneous movement by political prisoners who protest every week through hunger strikes against the culture of death. In response to the recent surge in executions, a group of non-political prisoners from Ward 2 of Ghezel Hesar sewed their lips shut and went on hunger strike, sending their cry of protest to the people of Iran and the world. Reports indicate that several of them were in critical condition and were transferred to the prison infirmary.

They have now temporarily and conditionally ended their hunger strike following promises from judicial authorities to suspend executions for six months.

We declare: the Islamic Republic of Iran bears full responsibility for the lives, health, and safety of these prisoners.

The policy of execution is not the enforcement of justice—it is the continuation of organized violence and an admission of failure in achieving social reform. In a society plagued by poverty, discrimination, and corruption, the spread of death sentences is not a sign of power but a confession of the collapse of law and morality.

We call on the people of Iran, intellectuals, lawyers, artists, and civil activists inside and outside the country not to remain silent in the face of this inhumane practice. It is now our moral and civic duty to use every peaceful means to stop and abolish the death penalty in Iran.

We also urge all international human rights organizations, defenders of freedom, and advocates of justice around the world to take a firm stand against the growing wave of executions in Iran…

Let us cherish life; let us be the voice of the prisoners of Ghezel Hesar.

See the full statement and list of signatories posted at Narges Foundation.

One Execution Every Three Hours

However, the hangmen of the Execution Republic continue to feverishly speed up their killing machine. As of October 24, according to Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, already 193 people have been hanged this month, which averages eight per day. So, every three hours this month, a human being was hanged in Iran, and their loved ones were left bereft and traumatized. There is little or no due process and the great majority were poor and/or oppressed nationalities,  A look at the statistical overview from the HRANA Annual Report shows that half of the executions were for the catch-all, vague charge of “drug offenses.”

In the context of the heightened struggle inside and outside of Iran’s prisons, it is worth revisiting some insights expressed by Nasser Mohajer, author of the seminal work on the 1988 prison massacre, Voices of a Massacre, Untold Stories of Life and Death in Iran, 1988, in an interview with the IEC in the wake of the June U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. (Read excerpts or watch a 35-minute video of the interview.) Mohajer said,

Some 60 years ago, before the Iranian revolution, the struggle going on inside Iranian jails was [mass] struggle, and civil disobedience. Iranian jails were called universities of revolution…

So for these very basic rights, they had to fight, they had to say, “You say we cannot have books? We cannot buy books from bookstores outside? We somehow smuggled books into jail, and we do reading here.” We learn things, and we understand what is going on in the world—what was going on in Vietnam at the time, what was going on in the U.S., in the 1968 movement and everything. I think this background will help to understand what is going on right now in jail… For the first time, we have live reports of something that happened [in prison] last night, two nights ago...

I think the most important thing at the moment is solidarity with political prisoners in Iran. Any campaign for solidarity: sending messages, having programs discussing the real situation in Iran, in the Middle East. The Middle East is going through a very difficult, crucial time. We are living in a very bad world…. There must be a movement of solidarity much [broader] than [among] the Iranian political prisoners or political activists or people who are not with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Stop the Executions and Free the Political Prisoners

Imagine what it is like to be living day to day on the death row wards of Iran’s prisons. In Ghezel Hesar Ward 2, it is reported that about 1,500 prisoners, which is most of the ward, are sentenced to death, many for alleged and arbitrary drug-related “crimes” which is a minor offense if at all.

These drawings from the prisoner magazine Bamdad Bidar #3 illustrate the tragedy and horror, as well as precious comradery and solidarity, on the death row.

Behind every death sentence, there is a human being, with a story of a family with regrets that will always remain with the survivors. We told the story to believe that it is possible to break the cycle of violence and find a way to live instead of death.” (Bamdad Bidar, Issue #3)

IEC encourages readers to share our translations of Bamdad Bidar magazine, launched by Evin prisoners in a journey of resistance and hope. This featured page on our website makes available complete English and Farsi versions of Issues 1 and 2, as well as the Farsi version of their latest Issue, #3. It is an invaluable resource in solidarity with Iran’s political and other prisoners.

We demand of the Islamic Republic of Iran: FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS NOW!

We say to the U.S. government: NO THREATS OR WAR MOVES AGAINST IRAN! LIFT SANCTIONS!