Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 17 July 2026: The mass dry hunger strike by Unit 2 of Ghezelhesar Prison, which began on 13 July, continued for the fourth day. According to the strikers, authorities refused to transfer those who had fallen unwell to the prison's infirmary.
On 16 July 2026, Unit 2 of Ghezelhesar Prison continued their fourth day of mass hunger strikes to stop the executions of the six drug defendants transferred to the pre-execution solitary confinement cells of the prison on 13 July. The Unit holds around 1,500 men sentenced to death for drug-related offences.
IHRNGO previously reported the identities of four of the transferred men as Seyed Iman Heidari from Tehran, Ayoub Asadi from Harsin, Vahid Teimuri and Hamed Nazariani from Kouhdasht.
In a video obtained by IHRNGO, two men who appear to be unconscious are seen in the arms of their cellmates by the locked door of the unit, waiting to be transferred. One of the strikers says: "Look! look at our sick prisoners, they are in a terrible state. The guards will not open the door to take them to the infirmary. This is the condition of our sick. They have fainted..."
In the background, the commotion of prisoners can be heard with cries of "Ya Allah" (O God), followed by the chant of "No to execution.”
In a second video which shows the strike in the Unit, strikers are sitting along the corridor holding placards that read "No to execution" (16 July 2026) while chanting simultaneously.
A spokesperson for the strikers states: "16th July of 2026. Today marks the fourth day of the hunger strike at Ghezelhesar Prison of Iran. We call upon the United Nations and all human rights organisations to halt all executions related to drug offences.
Amidst wartime conditions and our, the prisoners', anxiety for our families and loved ones, the implementation of our death sentences would inflict an irreparable, compounded agony. Even as news coverage regarding the war is extensive, our voices have gone unheard and our prisoners face the risk of death.
Be our voice.
16th July of 2026, Ghezelhesar Prison of Iran."
Strikers chant collectively: "No to execution! No to execution! No to execution! Do not execute! Do not execute! No to execution!"
This collective action mirrors the historic protest of October 2025, when more than 1,500 prisoners on death row for drug offences in Unit 2 of Ghezelhesar Prison staged a mass six-day strike, sewing their lips shut to demand an end to executions. Supported by families demonstrating outside the parliament building in Tehran, the prisoners successfully pressured authorities to halt drug-related executions pending legislative amendments. Since the October 2025 strike, IHRNGO has recorded the secret execution of only one individual, Alireza Ahmadi, for drug offences at the prison.