Campaign continues hunger strike amid escalating executions and confirmed death sentences
This Tuesday, May 26, 2026, marks the 122nd week of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign led by political prisoners across 56 prisons throughout Iran. The coordinated hunger strike continues as executions and death sentences intensify across the country, drawing growing domestic and international concern.
At least 72 individuals have been executed in Iran since the beginning of 2026, including more than 25 political and security-related prisoners. In the most recent week alone, executions continued to draw widespread concern, including the execution of three political prisoners: Ramin Zalleh, Karim Yaghoubpour, and Abbas Akbari Faizabadi. These cases have intensified alarm among human rights defenders, particularly as numerous other prisoners remain under confirmed death sentences across Iranian prisons.
New confirmed death sentences raise alarm
In the past week alone, the death sentence of political prisoner Manouchehr Fallah in Lakan Prison of Rasht was reportedly re-confirmed after being previously overturned.
Similarly, the sentence of Rouhollah Karaki in Sheiban Prison was upheld. In addition, death sentences for political prisoners Milad Armoun, Navid Najjaran, Mehdi Imani, and Seyed Mohammad Mehdi Hosseini, defendants in the so-called “Ekbatan Town” case, have also been confirmed, placing their lives at imminent risk.
“No to Execution Tuesdays” marks Week 122 of protest
In response to the continuing executions, the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign has entered its 122nd consecutive week of coordinated protest inside Iranian prisons.
The movement includes prisoners across 56 prisons nationwide, where participants carry out weekly hunger strikes every Tuesday in opposition to capital punishment.
Among the most active centers of protest is the women’s ward of Evin Prison, where female prisoners regularly chant slogans against executions. Authorities have reportedly responded with punitive measures, including restrictions on family visits and telephone contact.
Women prisoners at the forefront of resistance
Women prisoners have played a significant role in the anti-execution movement, both inside and outside prison walls. Their participation in weekly protests has been met with intensified restrictions, reflecting what campaigners describe as systemic efforts to silence dissenting voices.
The statement highlights that women have historically been central to major protest movements in Iran, including nationwide uprisings in recent years, and continue to serve as a driving force within the justice-seeking movement.
International condemnation of executions in Iran
During the past week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, along with Amnesty International and several other human rights organizations, condemned the ongoing execution crisis in Iran and called for an immediate halt.
The European Parliament also adopted a resolution denouncing the executions and broader political repression, urging member states to condition relations with Iran on an end to death sentences and mass executions.
Hunger strike across 56 prisons
On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, members of the campaign observe their 122nd weekly hunger strike across the following prisons:
Qezel Hesar Prison (Units 2, 3, and 4), Central Prison of Karaj, Fardis Prison of Karaj, Greater Tehran Prison, Qarchak Prison, Khorin Prison (Varamin), Choubindar Prison (Qazvin), Ahar Prison, Arak Prison, Langaroud Prison (Qom), Khorramabad Prison, Boroujerd Prison, Yasouj Prison, Asadabad Prison (Isfahan), Dastgerd Prison, Sheiban Prison, Sepidar Prison, Shiraz prisons (including Adelabad and Nezam), Zahedan Prison, Yazd Prison, Mashhad Prison, Rasht Prison, Tabriz Prison, Urmia Prison, Sanandaj Prison, Kermanshah Prison, Ardabil Prison, and numerous others spanning all regions of Iran.
Call for international action
The campaign once again urges international human rights bodies and global civil society to take effective action to halt executions in Iran and support the demand for abolition of the death penalty.
“We call on the world to stand with the people of Iran in their struggle for life, dignity, and justice,” the statement concludes.
