One Hundred and Twentieth Week of the “Tuesdays Against Execution” Hunger Strike by Political Prisoners
13-May-2026
Category: Hunger Strike of Political Prisoners
12 May 2026
News Category: Political Prisoners’ Hunger Strike
Breathing in Confinement: The “Tuesdays Against Execution” hunger strike campaign by political prisoners has entered its 120th week across 56 prisons throughout the country.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, at a time when Iran’s political and social developments have become increasingly complex and tense, the authorities have launched a widespread wave of executions and repression. This trend is reflected both in statistics and reports, and in the ongoing reality of prisons and the fate of political prisoners and their families. The statement issued by political prisoners is an attempt to narrate part of this situation; a documented account of what prisoners have endured and continue to endure amid these developments. Beyond reflecting suffering, the statement seeks to document and understand processes that leave deep impacts on society and raise serious questions regarding justice, law, and human dignity.
Full statement of the political prisoners:
Continuation of the “Tuesdays Against Execution” Campaign in 56 Different Prisons During the 120th Week
“At the beginning of 2026, when the people of Iran had risen in an uprising aimed at overthrowing the regime in its entirety, the dictatorial authorities were able to use an externally imposed war as cover to carry out a temporary but widespread suppression of society.
Under the shadow of war, the authorities have executed 23 political-security prisoners since late March. In addition to the executions themselves, the bodies of many political prisoners, including six members of the ‘Tuesdays Against Execution’ campaign — Vahid Bani-Amerian, Pouya Ghabadi, Babak Alipour, Akbar (Shahrokh) Daneshvar-Kar, Mohammad Taghavi, and Abolhassan Montazer — have still not been returned to their families, despite forty days having passed since their executions. On 18 April 2026, Shahrokh Daneshvar-Kar’s two sisters, Azam and Akram Daneshvar-Kar, were arrested by security forces and transferred to an undisclosed location after visiting the forensic medicine office and judiciary to seek the return of their brother’s body. This inhumane practice constitutes a clear example of enforced disappearance, a pattern that has repeatedly occurred in recent months and years under this government.
As part of the same repressive process, last week the authorities executed three political prisoners connected to the January uprising — Ebrahim Dowlatabadi, Mehdi Rasouli, and Mohammadreza Miri — in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad. We had previously warned about the imminent execution of these three prisoners, along with several others, in the campaign’s statement issued on Tuesday, 5 May.
Yesterday, another prisoner, Erfan Shakourzadeh, was executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison on charges of espionage.
At present, many political prisoners, especially those recently arrested, are at serious risk of execution. These include Amir Mohammad Zare and Mohammadreza Abdollahpour in Ghezel Hesar Prison, Ali Pishevarzadeh in Lakan Prison in Rasht, and several Baloch political prisoners — Adham Narouei, Farshid Hassanzahi, Hossein Shahouzehi, Nasimeh Eslamzahi, and Soleiman Shahbakhsh — all of whom have reportedly been tried through unfair and non-transparent judicial processes.
Over recent days, at least 100 detainees from the uprising have been transferred to Ward 37, Unit 3 of Ghezel Hesar Prison, where they are facing overcrowding and a lack of basic living facilities. Most of them are facing serious charges and their lives are in grave danger.
According to state-affiliated media, the authorities have confiscated the property of dozens of protesting citizens. Through these various forms of repression and unprecedented executions, the government seeks to create an atmosphere of fear and terror in society in the hope of prolonging its survival. However, the resistance and steadfastness of the people and courageous youth of Iran, both in the streets and in prisons, have shown that this government is destined to fall, and that freedom and equality are closer than ever.
The ‘Tuesdays Against Execution’ campaign stands firmly alongside the resilience of the noble people of Iran until the abolition of the death penalty and the liberation of Iran. The campaign has now become a symbol of resistance.
Every day of the ‘Tuesdays Against Execution’ campaign is a day in which collective conscience survives. These are days that break the deadly silence in order to carry the cry of ‘life’ to the world. We, the members of this campaign, believe that true justice is not born in execution halls; it flourishes in awakened hearts, in education, and in fair courts.”
The “Tuesdays Against Execution” campaign announced that, in its 120th week on Tuesday, 12 May 2026, prisoners in the following 56 prisons are participating in the hunger strike:
Evin Prison (women’s and men’s wards), Ghezel Hesar Prison (Units 2, 3, and 4), Karaj Central Prison, Fardis Prison in Karaj, Greater Tehran Prison, Qarchak Prison, Khorin Prison in Varamin, Choobindar Prison in Qazvin, Ahar Prison, Arak Prison, Langarud Prison in Qom, Khorramabad Prison, Borujerd Prison, Yasuj Prison, Asadabad Prison in Isfahan, Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan, Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz, Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz (women’s and men’s wards), Nezam Prison in Shiraz, Adelabad Prison in Shiraz (women’s and men’s wards), Firuzabad Prison in فارس Province, Dehdasht Prison, Zahedan Prison (women’s and men’s wards), Borazjan Prison, Ramhormoz Prison, Behbahan Prison, Bam Prison, Yazd Prison (women’s and men’s wards), Kahnuj Prison, Tabas Prison, Birjand Central Prison, Mashhad Prison, Gorgan Prison, Sabzevar Prison, Gonbad-e Kavus Prison, Ghaem Shahr Prison, Rasht Prison (women’s and men’s wards), Rudsar Prison, Haviq Prison in Talesh, Azbarom Prison in Lahijan, Dizelabad Prison in Kermanshah, Ardabil Prison, Tabriz Prison, Urmia Prison, Salmas Prison, Khoy Prison, Naqadeh Prison, Miandoab Prison, Mahabad Prison, Bukan Prison, Saqqez Prison, Baneh Prison, Marivan Prison, Sanandaj Prison, Kamyaran Prison, and Ilam Prison.”
120th Week
Tuesday, 12 May 2026