Prisoners at Iran’s largest jail sew lips shut in hunger strike as executions soar

Screengrab from a video shared by human rights groups showing Iranian prisoners on hunger strike at Ghezel Hesar. Photograph: Instagram View image in fullscreen Screengrab from a video shared by human rights groups showing Iranian prisoners on hunger strike at Ghezel Hesar. Photograph: Instagram Prisoners at Iran’s largest jail sew lips shut in hunger strike as executions soar At least 1,500 protest after six men on drug-related charges put in solitary confinement before possible execution Prisoners at Iran’s largest jail have sewn their lips shut as hundreds of prisoners joined a mass hunger strike amid a surge in executions over drug offences and charges linked to anti-government protests. The hunger strike, involving at least 1,500 death row prisoners at Ghezel Hesar prison near Tehran, began two weeks ago after six men convicted on drug-related charges were transferred to solitary confinement before their possible execution, according to Iranian rights groups. In a series of videos shared by rights groups in exile, prisoners are seen sitting in a prison hallway, holding placards reading “No to Executions” and chanting “Be our voice”. In one graphic video, a prisoner addresses the camera to say he is sewing his lips shut because, six days into the hunger strike, no prison official has responded to the prisoners’ protest. The footage then shows another prisoner off camera using a needle and thread to stitch the man’s lips together. In another video, a prisoner calls for urgent medical help for those whose conditions he says are deteriorating. “The guards will not open the door so we can take them to the prison infirmary,” he says. The protest is the latest act of defiance in the prisoner-led campaign against executions, which began in January 2024 and has spread across prisons in Iran amid a sharp rise in the use of the death penalty. According to the Oslo-based non-profit Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO), at least 424 executions have been carried out this year, with hundreds more on death row. Most executions were handed down in drug-related cases, IHRNGO said. On Tuesday, officials hanged two men who were convicted of “waging war on God” over the deaths of two police officers during the protests. Twenty-six people linked to the January protests have been hanged this year. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of IHRNGO, said people sentenced to death for drug offences were among the most marginalised and voiceless prisoners on death row. “They have become the lowest-cost victims of the Islamic Republic’s execution machine. Last year alone, at least 795 people were hanged on drug-related charges, with almost no international reaction and hardly any domestic or social media campaigns to save them. By staging this protest, the prisoners in Ghezel Hesar are taking an extraordinary risk. They know that the authorities can execute them at any moment, yet they have chosen to raise their voices in the hope that the international community will finally hear