Group Hanging of 5 Including Protester and Woman; Third Day of Anti-Death Penalty Hunger Strike in Ghezelhesar Prison

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least five people were hanged in Ghezelhesar Prison on 15 July 2026. They were all sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. The identities of three have been established as Aref Khoshkar (right photo), Parvin Chardoli and Abbas Nesari (left photo).

Hamshahri Newspaper reported the execution of the five individuals without naming them. Parvin Chardoli is reported to have been arrested for the murder of her stepson on 25 December 2019. An informed source told IHRNGO: “The court knew she hadn’t committed the murder but as she refused to name the perpetrator, she was the one that ended up on death row.”

According to the report, Aref Khoshkar was accused of killing an IRGC agent named Salman Amir Ahmadi with a pellet gun in the Abuzar neighbourhood of Tehran in October 2022. The report refers to Erfan as

It is important to note that IHRNGO has documented the use of pellet guns and the systematic targeting of protesters by state forces in the 2021 Isfahan protests, the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests and the December 2025–January 2026 protests.

Aref Khoshkar is the 15th protester to be executed in relation to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. 

Two other men who were transferred to the gallows with the five executed individuals were returned to their cells after obtaining last minute extensions in their cases. 

Day Three of the Anti-Death Penalty Strike of Ghezelhesar Prison

Prisoners in Unit 2 of the prison continued their third day of mass hunger strikes to stop the executions of the six drug defendants transferred to the pre-execution solitary confinement cells on 13 July. They remain at serious and imminent risk of execution.

In a video shared with IHRNGO, a spokesperson for strikers states:

“In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Today, 15 July 2026, marks the third day of the hunger strike by prisoners sentenced to death for drug offences in Ghezelhesar Prison.

These are prisoners who turned to such mistakes simply to afford the basic necessities of life, and they deeply regret their actions. Where else in the world is a human life taken for a first mistake?

Now, these people are calling on you, the honourable officials, to grant them a single-degree reduction in their sentences. We also urge the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the members of its presidium and the members of the parliamentary judicial commission to pass the bill amending the anti-narcotics law, which is currently under review in the judicial commission, during the open session of parliament. This would resolve a major part of the issues facing those on death row for drug offences.

We ask you, the people of Iran, who have always been a voice for us prisoners, to once again be the voice of imprisoned Iranians.

(Prisoners chanting in unison): No to executions! No to executions! No to executions!"

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.