Forty-seven female political prisoners in Iran's notorious Evin Prison plan a day-long hunger strike to coincide with President Masoud Pezeshkian's debut address at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, sources familiar with the situation told Iran International.
The prisoners are protesting the escalating number of executions in Iran and calling for the release of all political and ideological detainees, added the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Dissidents and rights groups have criticized the Iranian government’s ongoing crackdown on political dissent and human rights violations which persist under the new Pezeshkian administration.
Iranian activists are due to protest outside UN headquarters and are calling on UNGA attendees to walk out during Pezeshkian’s speech.
"Hosting Masoud Pezeshkian, a known affiliate of the IRGC, at the United Nations General Assembly grants unwarranted legitimacy to a regime responsible for systemic human rights violations over decades," several Iranian activist groups said in a joint statement on Monday.
"Such recognition not only undermines the demands of the Iranian people for justice and regime change but also signals international tolerance of these atrocities. We respectfully urge all dignitaries to take a principled stand by walking out during Pezeshkian’s speech".
Crackdown on slain protesters' families a day before Pezeshkian's UNGA address
Pezeshkian’s UNGA address in New York comes amid a sharp increase in state repression back home around the second anniversary of the Woman Life Freedom uprising sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022.
On Monday, Iranian security forces surrounded the home of Gohar Eshghi, mother of Sattar Beheshti, a blogger who died under torture in 2012.
Eshghi had announced plans for a sit-in at the UN office in Tehran to protest the Islamic Republic's continued pressure on the families of slain protesters. Security forces blocked her from leaving her home, illustrating the Iranian government’s intensified efforts to silence dissent.
In a show of international solidarity, a group of Iranian expatriates gathered outside the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm to support families like those of Gohar Eshghi and Mina Soltani, the mother of slain Iranian protestor, Shahryar Mohammadi who remains in detention. The protestors called on global leaders to stand with the victims of state violence in Iran.
Iran’s security forces on Monday arrested Amirhossein Haghjouyan, the cousin of the executed dissident Reza Rasaei, in Sahneh, Kermanshah Province. Rasaei's execution in August was the first protest-related execution since Pezeshkian took office.
Two mothers of victims of Iran's November 2019 protests, Mahboubeh Ramezani and Rahimeh Yousefzadeh, were also sentenced to 18 months and one day in prison, their lawyer Reza Shafakhah announced on Monday.
“The government is escalating pressure on the victims' families through collective arrests and summoning grieving families by security agencies, aiming to prevent them from commemorating their lost loved ones—a move it fears could trigger further unrest,” US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center warned in a statement on X Monday.
New President, old problems
Under Pezeshkian’s administration, executions in Iran have surged.
There was been a marked increase in executions and in August 2024 alone over 50 people were executed including a mass execution of 22 prisoners in Ghezel Hesar Prison.
While Pezeshkian has criticized the methods of the morality police during his campaign, the enforcement of strict hijab laws continues under his administration as officials insist hijab patrols will persist.
Last week, the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran highlighted persistent human rights violations, particularly targeting women.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), a US-based group, said in a statement on Monday that Pezeshkian must be questioned on the country's rights abuses at the UNGA, which the UN has described as "crimes against humanity.”
“The president of Iran is free to travel to New York, while his government keeps thousands behind bars for peacefully criticizing the state’s repressive policies,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
“The world must not allow its attention to be diverted from the human rights crisis in Iran, or more women, children and men will remain unjustly imprisoned, face torture, and be sent to the gallows,” Ghaemi added
Apart from human rights concerns, Pezeshkian faces criticism over deepening economic inequality, widespread poverty and poor workers' rights.
As he prepares for his UN speech from a $1,000-per-night hotel, Iranians mourn the loss of over fifty coal miners in an explosion in Tabas on Sunday, whose combined wages for five months equal just one night of his stay, sparking renewed debate among Iranians over workers' rights and economic justice in the country.
Religious minorities have also expressed criticism, with the Baha’i International Community (BIC) issuing a statement on Monday expressing concern over the ongoing persecution of the Baha’i community in Iran.
While acknowledging Pezeshkian’s recent promises to respect the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, the BIC pointed out that no meaningful action followed, citing ongoing arrests, raids, and the exclusion of Baha’is from universities.
“The president’s words of unity and equality ring hollow while Baha’is continue to face systemic discrimination and repression,” said Simin Fahandej, the BIC’s representative.