In early November 2025, Iran’s “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign reached its 93rd consecutive week, marking a sustained, coordinated challenge to the state’s intensifying use of capital punishment. Prisoners across 54 facilities—many of them among the regime’s most infamous detention centers—continued their rolling hunger strikes, while parallel demonstrations erupted in urban centers nationwide. This convergence of internal and external resistance reflects a growing societal resolve to confront the Islamic Republic’s escalating execution policy.
According to the campaign’s latest communiqué, the execution rate in the opening days of the Persian month of Aban has reached an alarming peak. Between October 23 and November 3, the authorities executed at least 76 prisoners. This wave of killings continued unabated despite a week-long hunger strike by inmates in Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison—one of the largest and most brutal detention complexes in the country. The timing underscores the regime’s intent: to signal that protests, whether within its prisons or on the streets, will not deter its machinery of repression.
In their 93rd statement, the incarcerated members of the campaign issued a blunt assessment and a pointed appeal. They described the regime’s execution apparatus as “moving without brakes and at full speed,” characterizing the state’s conduct as an engineered system of fear designed to suppress dissent at scale. Addressing the Iranian public and families of those facing death sentences, they urged collective refusal to normalize these killings. Their message called on citizens to publicly denounce the executions and “not allow this massacre to continue in silence,” encouraging visible civic resistance through demonstrations “in any way possible.”
These appeals resonated far beyond the prison walls. Despite a heavy security presence, citizens mobilized across major cities including Tehran, Karaj, Mashhad, Rasht, Ahvaz, and Dezful. Youth groups and women—who have consistently been at the forefront of anti-regime mobilization—played pivotal roles. Protesters held placards proclaiming “Death to the dictator,” “We will not be silent in the face of executions,” and “The executioner’s noose has no effect on Iran’s lionesses,” combining political condemnation with a rejection of the state’s gender-targeted suppression.
The demonstrations also spotlighted specific cases of political prisoners at imminent risk of execution. Signs such as “No to the execution of Ehsan Faridi” and “We condemn Zahra Tabari’s sentence” functioned not only as individual appeals but as symbols of a broader struggle against institutionalized violence. By elevating particular prisoners’ names, protesters emphasized the human impact of the regime’s policy and the urgency of collective intervention.
International scrutiny is simultaneously intensifying. The campaign’s communiqué referenced recent findings presented to the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee by UN Special Rapporteur Mai Sato and Fact-Finding Mission head Sara Hossein. Their assessments confirmed widespread violations of the right to life in Iran and revealed that state media discloses only about 8% of executions—a data point indicating a deliberate strategy of concealment.
After nearly two years, “No to Executions Tuesdays” has transformed into a structured, nationwide resistance movement. The alignment of hunger strikes within Iran’s carceral system and mass protests across its streets signals a decisive societal shift: a rejection of state violence and an insistence on life, dignity, and justice.