More than 1,000 inmates at Iran’s Ghezel Hesar Prison have entered a third week of a mass hunger strike to protest regime executions, with some prisoners sewing their lips shut in protest. The escalating demonstration at the U.S.-sanctioned Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj near Tehran highlights growing international concern over the Islamic Republic’s reliance on capital punishment, particularly for drug-related offenses.
Protest Details
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the hunger strike started on July 13, after six inmates were transferred to solitary confinement ahead of possible executions. Other Iranian human rights groups said the prisoners had been convicted of drug-related offenses. Reports indicate that the striking prisoners have been chanting ‘No to Execution’ and taking extreme measures, including sewing their lips shut.
A video appeared to show an inmate speaking to the camera and saying he was going to sew his lips shut because, six days into the hunger strike, no prison official had responded to the protest. The Guardian reported that the video also appears to show an unseen prisoner using a needle and thread to stitch the man’s lips shut.
International Response
In a statement released on July 27, the exiled Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), reported that prisoners in Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison were in ‘deteriorating physical condition’ because of the hunger strike. The NCRI also said the striking prisoners urged the public, human rights organizations, and international bodies to take action to halt the executions.
The State Department had designated and sanctioned Ghezel Hesar Prison in 2024 for gross human rights violations and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of prisoners. According to Amnesty International, the Islamic Republic of Iran executed at least 2,159 people in 2025, driving the number of executions recorded by Amnesty International to at least 2,707 across 17 countries — the highest figure the organization has recorded since 1981.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
