A prison corridor has become the setting for an urgent appeal for life. Videos circulated by Iranian human-rights groups show rows of prisoners sitting together in Ghezel Hesar Prison, holding signs that read “No to Executions” and asking people outside the prison to be their voice. At least 1,500 death-row prisoners are reported to have joined a mass hunger strike. Some have taken the extreme step of sewing their lips shut.
The protest began on 13 July 2026 in Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar, near Karaj, after six prisoners convicted of drug-related offences were transferred to solitary confinement. In Iran, such transfers are widely understood as a possible final step before execution. The prisoners refused prison food and began a sit-in. By 28 July, the action had continued for more than two weeks, despite reports of worsening health and no meaningful response from prison officials.
What is confirmed, and what remains reported
The Guardian reported on 28 July that at least 1,500 prisoners on death row were participating in the hunger strike. The newspaper reviewed footage shared by rights groups. One video shows a prisoner explaining that he is sewing his lips shut because officials had not responded after six days. Another records an appeal for urgent medical help for prisoners whose condition was said to be deteriorating.
The footage and accounts come from prisoners and human-rights networks, not from independent observers inside Ghezel Hesar. Verein Welle therefore treats the scale of the protest, the sewing of lips and the alleged denial of medical access as strongly reported claims that require immediate independent verification. The prison authorities have not provided transparent public information addressing the prisoners’ health or the allegations.
Medical care cannot be withheld from hunger strikers
A prisoner in one of the videos says guards would not open a door so seriously unwell men could be taken to the prison infirmary. If accurate, this is a grave prisoner-protection concern. People in detention remain under the care of the state, regardless of the charges or sentences against them. They have a right to timely medical assessment, treatment based on clinical need and protection from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Hunger strikes create complex medical and ethical responsibilities. Prisoners must not be punished for peaceful protest, forced into harmful treatment or denied confidential access to qualified health professionals. The longer a strike continues, the greater the danger of dehydration, organ damage, loss of consciousness and lasting disability. Sewing the lips shut adds risks of infection and injury. Independent medical access is therefore urgent, not optional.
Part of the wider “No to Executions” campaign
The Ghezel Hesar hunger strike is not an isolated event. It is linked to a wider prisoner-led movement against the death penalty in Iran. Since January 2024, prisoners in numerous prisons have participated in weekly “No to Executions Tuesdays” protests. These peaceful actions have drawn attention to executions involving protesters, political prisoners, people convicted of drug offences and other vulnerable detainees.
The current strike brings particular visibility to death-row prisoners convicted in drug cases. Iran Human Rights told The Guardian that at least 424 executions had been recorded in Iran in 2026 by 28 July, with most involving drug-related convictions. The organisation also reported that many of those sentenced are poor and marginalised, and that some cases rely on confessions allegedly obtained under torture or proceed without meaningful access to a lawyer.
These figures and allegations must be independently investigated. However, the pattern they describe raises fundamental questions about the right to life and fair trials in Iran. A death sentence is irreversible. Where proceedings are secretive, legal representation is restricted or a confession may have been coerced, the risk of an irreversible miscarriage of justice becomes intolerably high.
Why this matters to readers in Switzerland
For people in Switzerland, the story may feel geographically distant, but the principles are close to home: human dignity, the protection of life, access to justice and medical care for every person in custody. The prisoners’ message is not a request to overlook crime or the suffering of victims. It is a demand that punishment never remove basic rights and that no one be executed after an unfair or opaque process.
The protest also shows why prisoners must not disappear from public attention. Behind the number 1,500 are individuals with families, health needs and legal cases that deserve careful review. Their peaceful action should be met with protection and dialogue, not isolation, retaliation or denial of care.
Welle’s role: keeping prisoners visible
Verein Welle is an independent Swiss human-rights organisation. Our role is to document credible reports, distinguish verified information from allegations, make threatened prisoners visible and help international attention reach cases that might otherwise remain behind prison walls. We inform civil society in Switzerland, preserve the human context behind statistics and support urgent awareness efforts centred on the right to life, fair trials and prisoner protection.
Welle does not claim that awareness alone can stop an execution. But sustained documentation and public attention can strengthen the work of UN experts, international monitoring bodies, lawyers, families and human-rights defenders. Silence leaves prisoners more isolated. Responsible attention can create space for scrutiny and protection.
Urgent international action is needed now
Verein Welle calls on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, relevant UN Special Procedures and international medical and detention-monitoring bodies to seek immediate access to the hunger strikers. Their health, location and treatment must be independently verified. Any prisoner needing care must receive it without delay, and no participant should face punishment for peaceful protest.
The United Nations and relevant international institutions should also press for an immediate halt to the six threatened executions that triggered the strike, a moratorium on all executions, and independent review of death sentences affected by allegations of torture, coerced confessions or denial of legal counsel. The prisoners have made their message unmistakable: “No to Executions.” The responsible response is urgent protection, transparent review and action before more lives are lost.
Sources and editorial note
This article distinguishes official statements from allegations and reports by human-rights organisations. Because independent access to prisons and court records is restricted, some details could not be independently verified by Verein Welle.
Source: HRANA, “Ghezel Hesar Prisoners’ Hunger Strike Enters Tenth Day” (23 July 2026)
Source: UN experts, statement on executions and prisoner-led protests (27 July 2026)
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