August 6, 2026
The number of executions in Iran last year reached its highest level in decades. This worrying trend, which has intensified during the war, once again shows that whenever the Islamic Republic faces political, social and economic crises, it resorts to repression and execution more than ever.
However, what is most promising today is the change in the public atmosphere in society towards the death penalty. The regime used to try to institutionalize fear in society by turning executions into public spectacle. But these days, people gather not to watch the gallows, but to protest it. The courageous protest of the people of Isfahan against the execution of three young detainees, the ongoing "No to Execution Tuesdays" campaign that has continued with hunger strikes by prisoners in dozens of prisons across the country, and the slogan "No to Execution" raised in rallies by retirees, workers, teachers, and other protest movements are clear signs of the spread of social opposition to the death penalty.
This development is an important achievement for the Iranian people's freedom movement. Although the regime continues to insist on implementing its criminal policy, experience has shown that widespread and organized protests can increase the political cost of executions for the regime and, in some cases, force it to back down and postpone the executions.
The social capacity to oppose executions exists. What has prevented this capacity from becoming an effective force has been the dispersion of protests and the lack of joint action. In the current situation, opposition to executions must become one of the broadest areas of convergence in Iranian society.
The Left Party of Iran believes that opposition to the death penalty should not remain confined to political, ideological, and organizational differences. Every political party and organization, every trade union and civil society organization, every democratic institution, every human rights activist and every citizen who opposes the deprivation of the right to life should be able to stand alongside other opponents of the death penalty. Defending life is an arena in which political boundaries must be blurred.
We believe that defending the right to life and the struggle to abolish the death penalty can and should become one of the most important axes of the unity of action of the freedom-loving and democratic forces in Iran. The wider and more organized this solidarity is, the greater the possibility of pushing back the machine of repression and execution.
The Left Party of Iran calls on all democratic political parties and organizations, trade unions, civil society organizations, human rights organizations, families of those who are against the death penalty, and all citizens opposed to the death penalty, despite their ideological political differences, to take joint action to form a joint, nationwide, and continuous campaign against the death penalty and to abolish the death penalty in Iran.
Today, more than ever, Iranian society needs solidarity in defending the right to life. We must turn the voice of "no to the death penalty" into a single, inclusive, and deterrent voice that can push back the Islamic Republic's killing machine. Let us not doubt that the Islamic Republic wants to hang its opponents with the noose until the very brink of overthrow, but the louder the voice of opposition to execution becomes, the less capable and determined the ruling criminals will be to execute them.
Political-Executive Board of the Left Party of Iran
Thursday, August 6, 2026
Add new comment