Political Prisoners in Qezel Hesar Prison Go on Hunger Strike in Protest Against Executions and the Forced Transfer of Fellow Prisoners
2-April-2026
Category: Hunger Strike of Political Prisoners، Prisoners
1 April 2026
News category: Political prisoners’ hunger strike – Prisoners
Breathing in Confinement: Political prisoners held in Qezel Hesar Prison have gone on hunger strike in protest against executions and the separation of their fellow prisoners.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, political prisoners held in Qezel Hesar Prison have begun a hunger strike in protest against a raid by security agents and plainclothes forces on the political ward, the implementation of execution sentences, and the forced transfer and separation of a number of their fellow prisoners.
According to the information received, during this raid on Ward 4 of Qezel Hesar Prison, at least 22 political prisoners were transferred to different locations. According to these reports, 6 of these prisoners were moved to the solitary confinement cells of Ward 1, while the others were transferred to the solitary confinement cells of Unit 3. Reports indicate that these individuals are also on hunger strike.
In light of the execution in recent days of four political prisoners — Mohammad Taqavi Sangdehi, Akbar Daneshvarkar, Pouya Qobadi, and Babak Alipour — as well as statements by judicial officials, including the head of the judiciary, regarding the need for the “timely and without delay implementation of sentences,” and given the tense atmosphere, military confrontations, and the Islamic Republic’s regional and domestic crisis, concerns have increased over the imminent risk of the execution of other political prisoners.
Breathing in Confinement, while expressing deep concern over the situation of political prisoners, especially those sentenced to death, emphasises that under international human rights standards, including the principles set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the right to life and the right to a fair trial are among the fundamental and inviolable rights of individuals.
This organisation calls on all human rights organisations, the United Nations Special Rapporteurs, and other international mechanisms to use their legal and diplomatic capacities to take urgent, practical, effective, and coordinated action to halt the implementation of execution sentences, guarantee the prisoners’ safety, end prolonged solitary confinement, and ensure full respect for their fundamental rights.