Amidst a continued post-election execution surge and increased suppression of peaceful prison protests, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and 67 human rights organizations across four continents expressed their support for the ongoing “No Death Penalty Tuesdays” weekly hunger strike movement currently spanning 17 Iranian prisons across the country. The August 27, 2024 statement, published a day after the first public hanging of the year, “call[ed] for an immediate halt on all executions with a view to abolish the death penalty in Iran and urge[d] the international community to support the growing abolition movement in Iran.”
“Every six hours, one person was executed in Iranian prisons in the first 20 days of August,” the statement explains. With executions increasing “every year since 2021,” and at least 395 executions as of August 26, 2024, the statement highlights Iran’s use of the death penalty as a “tool of political repression,” emphasizing its unlawful use for drug-related crimes and disproportionate use against “[m]arginalised groups of society and ethnic minorities,” such as the Kurdish and Baluch populations, which was recently criticized by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of IHRNGO, added to the statement’s release: “The resilience of prisoners fighting against the death penalty in Iran has impressed and inspired the abolitionist movement worldwide. Our message to these courageous individuals is that we have heard your voices and will stand with you until this inhumane punishment is abolished.”
