As Somayeh summed up in her talk:

...We must rebel against treating [any] life as worthless…. Human rights activities against execution, imprisonment and repression are commendable measures, and an attempt to get beyond the system's poisonous way of thinking. But they must come to understand that the issue [of execution] cannot be solved within the framework of human rights and the laws and values of this system.

New Shoots of Opposition Inside Iran

On October 22, a significant protest was held by families of prisoners on death row and their supporters. It took place in front of the Parliament building in Tehran, capital of Iran. This visible public support inside Iran for the “No to Execution Tuesdays” strike is a new, welcome development. Political street demonstrations against the regime have been relatively rare since the murderous crackdown on the Jina (Woman, Life, Freedom) Uprising which shook the country for five months in 2022-2023.

In mid-October, a post on the Instagram account of political prisoner Golrokh Iraee³ that was signed by women prisoners in Evin said:

As a group of women from Evin women’s ward, we shout no to systematic killing. These days when the Middle East is swept up in dirt and blood, and the situation is becoming more severe and more unstable day by day, we, a group of women in Evin, declare in advance, from behind the prison walls that were supposed to separate us from the world and its events: While we clap our hands for “No to War,” if we don’t [also] shout “No to Execution,” we have made a huge mistake. As a witness to the history of the government’s wars, whether in their preparations or the actual waging of these wars, they have always paved the way for more repression and issuing death sentences and implementing executions against the people and of political opponents, opposition forces and those who think differently than the status quo….[We must be] more resilient than ever before. We stand against state executions under any pretext and in any form, and say no to systematic killing [by the State]. — Signed: A group of female political prisoners. Evin Prison Women’s Ward

This is an extremely important and insightful collective statement that must be amplified. Their fierce example of determined political organizing and activity under daily horrific and dire conditions, now made more terrifying by U.S.-backed Israeli bombardments and intensifying war threats, is a clarion call to be spread AND EMULATED inside and outside of prisons.

Emergency Alert: Don’t Let the Mullahs Steal the Life of Narges Mohammadi!

Breaking News: As we were going to press, it was posted by the Narges Mohammadi Foundation on October 27 that she is “…Finally Hospitalized After Nearly Nine Weeks of Denied Medical Care.” We will continue to monitor and report on any significant changes in her situation.

The women political prisoners in Evin Prison have continuously provided a true inspiration of risking all to declare their undeterred solidarity with all prisoners in Iran against executions and inhumane treatmentIran’s theocratic regime continues to exact a heavy price.

Five women have been given additional prison sentences for protesting the execution of 2022 protester Reza Rasaei. Narges Mohammadi, Pakhshan Azizi, Verisheh (Varisha) Moradi, and Mahboubeh Rezaei had six months, and Parivash Moslemi three months, added to their already completely unjust sentences. Many of the other women who protested were denied visits and phone calls with their families and lawyers.

Narges Mohammadi, winner of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize while imprisoned, is right now facing a medical emergency which worsens daily and is an imminent threat to her life.

In 2021, she had open heart surgery due to a 75% blockage of her main artery. Since then, preliminary tests show new blockages (as well as other serious conditions), requiring a new angiography, or X-ray of her heart vessels in a hospital, as even prison doctors have recommended repeatedly since March 2024.

During a sit-in of the women’s ward in August 2024, she was assaulted by guards and left with multiple bruises. She has been arrested 13 times, convicted 5 times, and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes (whipping). She continues to protest and write from behind the prison walls, and the regime is determined to stop her.

In a recent video message, her brother describes the urgency of this situation:

In response, on October 25, 72 political, social, and human rights activists inside Iran issued an urgent statement: “The denial of medical treatment to Narges Mohammadi paves the way for a ‘silent death.’”

And on October 24, 22 of Narges’ cellmates issued a collective letter, “Take Narges Mohammadi to the Hospital NOW!” They noted:

In fact, every time the prison has agreed to transfer Narges Mohammadi to the hospital, it has been after multiple protests from her fellow inmates. This time, Narges was supposed to be sent to the hospital in September for the angiography, but despite the urgency of the situation and the numerous protests from fellow inmates and other women prisoners, the prison still hasn’t transferred her.

We are only asking for medical attention and for our fellow inmate to be transferred for treatment—a legal demand that the prison is obligated to fulfill.

Note that both of the statements are coming from inside Iran, putting signatories themselves at risk of new charges or even death. It is urgent that their voices be joined by many others, including those with significant platforms, throughout the world.

Share Somayeh’s powerful statement and the “10 Things You Can Do to Free Iran’s Political Prisoners” on the IEC website.

In light of the execution surge and reprisals against prisoners, the following statement is also relevant. Varisheh Moradi, a Kurdish activist in Evin in danger of being sentenced to death, insisted when she started her indefinite hunger strike (now in its 15^th day, gravely endangering her health):

We will not, at all costs, let the voices of the internal warriors standing bravely be lost in the turmoil of wars and unending adventures.

¹ For more background, see “Israel Prepares Attack on Iran, U.S. Military Deploys to Back Them Up…,” revcom.us, October 21, 2024.

² Iran Human Rights and the Boroumand Center reported that in the year from October 2023 to October 2024, Iran executed 811 people, or 2.2 people per day, keeping it on a similar track to the estimated 853 executed in 2023, making up 75% of all recorded executions in the world that year. On October 22, Burn The Cage reported that published news had reported that 140 had been hanged over the past 30 days (4-5 per day), and 17 were hanged on October 16 alone.

³ Golrokh Iraee is a writer and human rights defender currently serving a five-year sentence in Evin for “Assembly and collusion against national security” and one year for “propaganda against the state”, based on her social media posts in 2022 supporting the Jina uprising. Just prior to that she was imprisoned for three years for “insulting the sacred” for an unpublished story she wrote against stoning.