Iran Protests: 65th Week of Anti-Execution Hunger Strike Spreads to 40 Prisons Nationwide Written by Amir Taghati 22nd April 2025

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Front gate of Behbahan Prison in Iran

In a growing show of defiance against Iran’s execution policies, political prisoners across more than 40 prisons, including Behbahan for the first time, have joined the 65th weekly round of the “No to Executions Wednesdays” campaign. The coordinated hunger strike marks a symbolic act of resistance against what prisoners describe as a systematic weaponization of the death penalty by the regime.

This week’s protest follows the recent execution of a political prisoner and the issuance of new death sentences, intensifying outrage among incarcerated activists. Participants in the campaign are demanding an end to arbitrary executions and international action to hold the regime accountable for its repressive use of capital punishment.

A translated version of the campaign’s statement follows:

Behbahan Prison Joins the “No to Executions Wednesdays” Campaign in Its 65th Week

List of Names and Photos of Political Prisoners Sentenced to DeathHamid Hosseinnezhad Heydaranlou

Criminal Execution of Political Prisoner Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heydaranlou and Death Sentence Issued for Political Prisoner Pejman Soltani

The executioner and authoritarian regime of Iran intensifies its repression whenever it faces deadlock. The sharp edge of this repression is often directed at defenseless, bound prisoners, whose lives are taken under inhumane death sentences.

The criminal execution of Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heydaranlou, a 40-year-old political prisoner and father of three, who was arrested in Farvardin 1402 (March–April 2023) and brutally tortured, is one of the regime’s inhumane actions against the people of Iran. Under severe torture, he was forced to confess against himself and sign pre-written statements prepared by interrogators.

Since the beginning of this year, at least 88 people—including five women, seven political prisoners, and two juvenile offenders—have been executed. This figure has increased severalfold compared to the previous year, and can be seen as a sign of the explosive state of society.

In recent days, Pejman Soltani, a political prisoner from Bukan who was arrested during the 2022 protests, was also sentenced to death.

The scale of these executions and the systematic killing of prisoners in Iran reflects the regime’s deep fear of uprisings and social unrest. It is a serious warning to the international community and human rights organizations not to remain silent in the face of the criminal Iranian regime, and to take effective and practical measures to confront these inhumane executions.

Behbahan Prison Joins the “No to Executions Wednesdays” Campaign

The “No to Executions Wednesdays” campaign informs the public that starting this week, a group of prisoners in Behbahan Prison have also joined the campaign in protest against death sentences. Every Wednesday, alongside other prisoners, they will go on hunger strike.

On Wednesday, April 22, 2025, prisoners in 40 prisons across the country will participate in the hunger strike for the 65th consecutive week. These prisons include: