More than 1,000 inmates at Iran’s Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj have entered a third week of a mass hunger strike to protest ongoing executions. Some prisoners have taken extreme steps, sewing their lips shut, as a visual statement of their desperation.
The protest has drawn attention to the Islamic Republic’s reliance on capital punishment, especially for drug‑related offenses, raising concerns among international observers.
The strike began on July 13 after six inmates were moved to solitary confinement in anticipation of potential executions. Human rights groups note that many of the inmates were convicted of drug crimes.
Participants chant “No to Execution” and, in a video, an inmate can be seen speaking to a camera before a fellow prisoner stitches his lips shut. The footage highlights the severity of the protest.
A statement issued on July 27 by an exiled Iranian opposition group described the prisoners in Unit 2 as physically deteriorating. It added that the judiciary had not responded and that guards had failed to provide medical care.
The group urged the public, human rights organizations, and international bodies to intervene and halt the executions, citing the dire condition of the striking inmates.
This is the second major demonstration at Ghezel Hesar in recent months. An earlier six‑day hunger strike in October 2025 involved more than 1,500 inmates and concluded after officials promised a temporary halt to executions and a review of cases, promises that were later unfulfilled.
In 2024, the prison was sanctioned for gross human rights violations and cruel, inhuman treatment, including beatings of political prisoners during hunger strikes.
Reports indicate that at least 2,159 people were executed in Iran in 2025, bringing the total to 2,707 across 17 countries—the highest number recorded since 1981—excluding China, where execution data is classified as a state secret.
