With several prisoners launching dry hunger strikes after sewing their lips shut and six inmates facing imminent execution, the crisis inside Qezel Hesar Prison is escalating as calls grow for urgent international intervention.
The mass hunger strike by approximately 1,500 prisoners sentenced to death in Unit 2 of Qezel Hesar Prison has entered its tenth day, highlighting the increasingly desperate conditions facing prisoners under sentence of execution in Iran.
On Tuesday, July 21, the prisoners completed nine days of continuous hunger strike and sit-in protest. The situation has become even more critical after several participants reportedly sewed their lips shut and began a dry hunger strike, refusing both food and water in protest against what they describe as the judiciary’s inaction and the regime’s continued executions.
According to reports from inside the prison, several prisoners are now suffering from dangerously low blood pressure, raising fears for their health as the protest intensifies.
Prisoners warn that six inmates face imminent execution
In a statement released the previous day, the striking prisoners expressed grave concern over the fate of six fellow inmates who had already been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for execution.
Appealing directly to the Iranian people, the prisoners wrote:
“In these critical circumstances, this is not the time for silence, because the lives of the children of this homeland are in danger. Be the echo of our voices.”
The message reflects growing fears that executions could be carried out while the hunger strike continues.
Protest banners reject executions
Inside the prison hall where the sit-in is taking place, prisoners have displayed two large banners carrying powerful messages against the regime’s use of capital punishment.
One reads:
“The right of Iran’s youth is not prison and execution.”
The second declares:
“We say no to executions—yes to life, justice, and human dignity.”
The slogans echo the growing nationwide opposition to executions, which have become one of the regime’s primary tools for suppressing dissent and intimidating society.
Executions remain a central instrument of repression
The mass protest in Qezel Hesar comes amid an alarming surge in executions across Iran. Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that the regime is using death sentences not only as criminal punishment but also as a political weapon to silence opposition and instill fear throughout society.
The participation of 1,500 death row prisoners in a coordinated hunger strike represents one of the largest known prison protests against executions in recent years and underscores the depth of despair among inmates facing the constant threat of execution.
The decision by some prisoners to sew their lips shut and refuse even water illustrates the extreme measures they have resorted to in an effort to draw attention to their plight.
Calls for urgent international action
The Iranian Resistance has once again called on the United Nations, international human rights organizations, and governments committed to defending human rights to publicly condemn the regime’s escalating use of executions and to support the striking prisoners.
It also renewed its demand for the immediate dispatch of an independent international fact-finding mission to visit Iran’s prisons and meet directly with detainees, particularly those sentenced to death.
As the hunger strike enters its tenth day and the health of many participants continues to deteriorate, concerns are mounting that any further delay by the international community could have irreversible consequences for prisoners whose lives hang in the balance.
