Prisoners protest mass executions amid Iran’s worsening repression and international isolation
As the Iranian regime intensifies its nationwide campaign of executions to suppress dissent and intimidate society, prisoners in Ghezelhesar Prison in Karaj have entered the third day of a hunger strike. The protest, which began in Unit 2 of the prison, is a direct response to the transfer of at least 11 inmates to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions.
According to reports from inside the prison, the atmosphere has become tense and heavily militarized. Security forces have imposed strict control over the wards, and judicial officials have attempted to end the strike by making vague promises to the inmates. Despite this, the hunger strike continues, with at least one prisoner’s health reported to be in serious condition.
The prisoners transferred to solitary confinement have been identified as:
Ahmad Esḥaq-Zehi (Mandi-Zehi), Ahmad Koushki, Ali Ahmad Zahedai, Mohammad Ne’mati, Mehdi Yousefi, Ahmad Sadegh-Nia, Zarali, Meysam Jalinus, Hadi Naqdi, and Mehdi Ein-al-Elahei.
A Widening Wave of Executions
The hunger strike comes amid an alarming surge in executions across Iran. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reported that between October 11 and 14, at least 26 prisoners were executed in various cities. The statement condemned the killings as part of Ali Khamenei’s broader campaign of fear designed to prevent uprisings amid deepening domestic crises and factional struggles within the regime.
“Caught in a web of crises and successive domestic and international failures, and amid intensifying infighting within his regime, Ali Khamenei is accelerating the machinery of execution and repression in Iran in an attempt to block uprisings and prevent an explosion of popular anger,” the NCRI said in a statement on October 14.
The executions over the four-day period included:
- October 14 (Tuesday): Seven prisoners, including Yarhossein Nazarian, Mostafa Mirzaei, and Ayoub Latifian in Khorramabad; Ebrahim Delaram and Allahkaram Ghasemi in Yasuj; Yahya Najafi in Gachsaran; and Ehsan Pour-Masoumi in Sirjan.
- October 13 (Monday): Eight prisoners, including one woman—Morteza Darvishi and Ebrahim Risi in Minab; Mousa Yeganeh in Qazvin; Sobhan Safinejad, Zeinab Khodabandeh, and three others in Isfahan.
- October 12 (Sunday): Six prisoners—Esmail Roshani in Kashan; Behzad Moridan and Hassan Sohrabi in Arak; Saadi Khalifeh and Hamid Abdali in Dezful; and Fardin Parvizi in Semnan.
- October 11 (Saturday): Five prisoners—Rahman Kohzadi and Ali Akbar Hassani in Zanjan; Homayoun Safari in Ilam; Mohammadreza Akhbari in Yasuj; and Hafez Rahmati in Khorramabad.
Call for International Action
The NCRI called on the United Nations, the European Union, and all international human rights organizations to take immediate measures to stop the regime’s escalating execution campaign and save the lives of prisoners at risk.
The Ghezelhesar hunger strike underscores a broader pattern of resistance within Iran’s prisons, where inmates continue to risk their lives in defiance of the regime’s brutality. Amid mounting executions and increasing unrest, the clerical regime appears to be doubling down on repression—fearing that any sign of weakness could ignite the very uprising it seeks to prevent.
