On Tuesday, December 24, 2024, the ‘No to Executions Tuesdays‘ campaign will expand to include Rudsar Prison in Gilan province, with prisoners joining a hunger strike. This marks 28 prisons participating in the campaign‘s 48th week against the death penalty.

In their statement, the participating prisoners extend their greetings for the upcoming New Year and express wishes for a year free from oppression, executions, and violence, particularly for the Iranian people suffering under the rule of the clerical regime.

As of now, the Iranian regime has executed at least 953 individuals in 2024 alone, with approximately 33 of them being women. Among these executions, eight were political prisoners, and around 96 Kurdish and 101 Baluch compatriots have also been executed this year.

The statement from the striking prisoners highlights that 158 executions have occurred at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj this year.

The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign aims to expose the atrocities and executions happening in prisons across Iran, advocating for the voiceless prisoners on death row. Their efforts have contributed to placing Ghezel Hesar Prison on international sanctions lists due to its notorious record of human rights violations.

Recently, on December 18, 2024, the regime executed a Kurdish political prisoner named Rahim Barin in Mahabad after enduring 19 years of torture. Another political prisoner, Rezgar Beygzadeh Babamiri, who was arrested during the protests in 2022 in Boukan, faces charges that could lead to a death sentence.

The striking prisoners emphasize that the regime resorts to suppression and executions to quell public dissent. They urge all human rights organizations and civil society groups both inside and outside Iran to take serious action against these executions. They believe that solidarity and unity among people are crucial for stopping this machinery of death.

The prisons participating in this week’s hunger strike include:

– Evin Prison (Women’s Ward, Wards 4 & 8)
– Ghezel Hesar Prison (Units 3 & 4)
– Central Karaj Prison
– Greater Tehran Prison
– Khorin Prison (Varamin)
– Arak Prison
– Khorramabad Prison
– Asadabad Prison (Isfahan)
– Dashtgerd Prison (Isfahan)
– Sheiban Prison (Ahvaz)
– Nazim Prison (Shiraz)
– Bam Prison
– Kahnouj Prison
– Tabas Prison
– Mashhad Prison
– Qaem Shahr Prison
– Rasht Prison (Men’s & Women’s Wards)
– Ardabil Prison
– Tabriz Prison
– Urmia Prison
– Salmas Prison
– Khoy Prison
– Naqdeh Prison
– Saqqez Prison
– Baneh Prison
– Marivan Prison
– Kamyaran Prison
– Rudsar Prison (Gilan)

This campaign continues to serve as a powerful symbol of resistance against the Iranian regime’s human rights violations and aims to draw international attention to the plight of political prisoners facing execution.