Iran ramps up repression of political dissidents, executions surge
Amid intensified repression in Iran, Fox News correspondent Greg Palkot reports alarming developments, with nearly 50 executions and the arbitrary detention of 6,000 individuals in the last three months. Hadi Ghaemi, Director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, underscores the regime’s unrestrained actions, making life increasingly difficult for dissidents.
A dire situation unfolds as more than 1,000 death-row inmates at Iran’s Ghezel Hesar Prison escalate their protest against executions. Entering the third week of a hunger strike, some prisoners have sewn their lips shut, vividly illustrating their desperation and resolve.
The protest at Ghezel Hesar Prison, located near Tehran and sanctioned by the U.S., draws growing international condemnation. Critics point to the Islamic Republic’s extensive use of the death penalty, with a particular focus on drug-related convictions.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the hunger strike commenced on July 13, following the transfer of six prisoners to solitary confinement in preparation for potential executions. These inmates were reportedly convicted of drug-related charges, as noted by other Iranian human rights organizations.
The rate of state executions has surged under Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, as noted on 4/22/25. (Nooses: Photo by Loredana Sangiuliano/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, President of Iran: Photo by Iranian Presidency/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Reports also indicate that the striking prisoners have been chanting “No to Execution” and taking extreme measures, including sewing their lips shut.
One media outlet cited a video that 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.
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.
“Although 15 days have passed since the start of this hunger strike, the henchmen of the regime’s judiciary have given no response to the striking prisoners. Despite the prisoners’ deteriorating physical condition and urgent need for medical attention, prison guards have taken no measures to care for them,” the organization said.
The NCRI also said the striking prisoners urged the public, human rights organizations and international bodies to take action to halt the executions.
This marks the second major demonstration at the facility in recent months.
A similar protest occurred at Ghezel Hesar Prison in October 2025, when more than 1,500 inmates staged a six-day hunger strike, according to reports.
That demonstration ended after senior judicial and prison officials made a visit to the facility and promised to temporarily halt executions and review cases.
However, human rights activists report those promises were never fulfilled, according to Ynet.
Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State, speaks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021, during the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, Pool)
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.
“These heinous acts included multiple severe beatings of political prisoners engaged in a peaceful hunger strike to protest the increased wave of executions being carried out at the facility,” then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time.
According to Amnesty International, the Islamic Republic of Iran executed at least 2,159 people in 2025.
Iran’s total helped drive 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. The total excludes China, where execution data is classified as a state secret and Amnesty believes thousands of executions were carried out.