One year on, Iranian prisoners continue campaign against rising executions
Iran International
The year 2025 began with festive fireworks and colorful lights around the globe. In Iran, it was marked by the execution of at least 19 individuals across the country, according to Iran Human Rights (IHR NGO).
Within two weeks, the number rose to at least 46—that is one life taken every 8 hours. Human rights groups believe the real toll is even higher.
It was clear that the Islamic Republic had no intention of slowing down after it executed more than 900 in 2024, a record since 2015, as reported by the United Nations human rights office.
On January 30, 2024, a Tuesday, political prisoners in the women’s ward of Tehran’s Evin prison announced that they would go on hunger strike every Tuesday to protest the rising executions, and in solidarity with ten others who had done so in Ghezel Hesar prison.
The move was triggered by the execution of Mohammad Qobadlou and Farhad Salimi just a week prior. A new campaign was born: No to Execution Tuesdays. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi backed the move on Instagram.
In the one year since that Tuesday, hundreds of political prisoners from over 30 prisons have joined the campaign, refusing to eat or drink on Tuesday. They accuse the Islamic Republic of weaponizing the death penalty to silence dissent.
Their demand? The abolition of what they call "state-sponsored premeditated murder”.
“This is the first time prisoners from diverse political backgrounds have united to consistently protest executions,” Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, Director of IHR NGO told Iran International, hailing the campaign as a “milestone” in Iran’s fight against the death penalty and calling on Iranian civil society to join the campaign and express opposition to executions every Tuesday.
The long death row
At least 54 political prisoners are currently on death row in Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), with 19 having their convictions upheld by higher courts of the Islamic Republic.
One is Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish-Iranian human rights activist and social worker, who has been sentenced to death for "armed rebellion against the state." Amnesty International has condemned her sentence, calling it another example of a broader pattern targeting minorities and activists.
Leading in capital punishments
The Islamic Republic of Iran carries out three-quarters of all executions globally—outside China, which classifies capital punishment numbers as state secret, according to Amnesty International. It’s worth noting that Iran holds around 1 percent of the world’s population.
In 2024, a total of 31 women were executed in Iran, the highest annual number in 17 years. Many were convicted of murder in cases stemming from domestic violence or forced marriage. Iran also leads in executions of ethnic minorities, who often face systemic discrimination and lack access to fair trials.
Executions for drug-related offenses have surged since 2020, reversing a brief decline following the 2017 Amendment to the Anti-Narcotics Law. IHR NGO reported that drug-related executions in 2023 were 18 times higher than the annual average between 2018 and 2020. Ethnic minorities disproportionately bear the brunt of these executions.
In December 2024, political prisoner Ahmadreza Haeri issued a chilling warning from Ghezel Hesar prison about an impending "massacre" of drug offenders.
“Prosecutors in Tehran’s surrounding areas have decided to execute ALL drug offenders with final death sentences before Norouz [Iranian New Year, March 21],” Haeri warned, highlighting that the prison holds three times its official capacity.
Road ahead: collective responsibility
The campaign No to Execution Tuesdays represents an act of resistance by political prisoners and a step in the long march to the abolition of the death penalty in Iran.
But stopping, even slowing, Tehran’s execution machine requires an urgent and unified response from various players, according to Amiry-Moghadam.
Political advocacy, public awareness campaigns, and targeted sanctions on judicial officials could all be part of a collective effort to challenge the Islamic Republic on its continued executions.
Iranian political prisoners have sparked a movement of hope and defiance. But ending the death penalty in Iran is a tall order that those involved in the campaign say requires sustained efforts at every level—domestic, regional, and international.
Whether or not they can attract the widespread solidarity they seek remains to be seen.
