Female political prisoners in Iran demand abolition of death penalty

A group of female political prisoners in Evin Prison issued a statement expressing solidarity with the hunger strikers in Qezel Hesar Prison.

The statement said: “We hope these protests against the death penalty will become a public cause, as they represent a collective rejection of the intimidation policies practiced by the authorities. The government continues its attempts to cover up its internal crises by insisting on carrying out executions, justifying them with claims of combating crime, while in reality seeking to instill fear in society and use the death penalty as a tool to suppress free voices and intimidate the people.”

The detainees noted in their statement that more than one thousand female prisoners sentenced to death in Qezel Hesar have declared their absolute rejection of the death penalty and the government’s oppressive policies. They consider their movement a continuation of a historic struggle led by women in Iran against injustice and executions. They affirmed their full support for all death row prisoners and their families until the fundamental demand of completely and permanently abolishing the death penalty is achieved.

On October 15, around 1,500 female prisoners sentenced to death in Qezel Hesar began a hunger strike protesting the death penalty. Seventeen female prisoners from the same prison have been executed in recent days.

ANHA