On October 10, 2025, World Day Against the Death Penalty, 11 university student groups in Iran posted a statement calling for students to make “a more organized and nationwide fight against execution one of our focuses in overthrowing the Islamic Republic.” This represents an important step in widening and strengthening the struggle against executions, which has thus far been based primarily among prisoners and their families. It also represents a call to students to take up struggles outside of their immediate concerns as their own, which is a key element in any progressive or revolutionary movement.

Graphic by @isfahan.uni; Farsi text reads: “Unite and Fight against the death penalty, shouting ‘No to executions!’ Joint Statement of students around the country on the occasion of October 10,  WorldDay Against the Death Penalty”. Illustration shows faces of four of the at least 12 Women, Life, Freedom protesters who have been executed.

List of signing organizations:

·     #ProgressiveStudentsOrganization

·     North Tehran University Freedom Seekers Organization

·     Tehran University Student Law Association

·     Beheshti University Society of Liberal Students

·     Al-Zahra Students Union

·     Isfahan University of Technology Students Union

·     Isfahan Azad University Students Association

·     Free Voice of the University (Isfahan ArtUniversity)

·     University of Isfahan students

·     Isfahan University of Medical Sciences students

·     University of Urmia students

Read the full statement, translated to English by IEC volunteers, below.

The World Day Against the Death Penalty comes at a time when the Islamic Republic has nearly doubled the number of executions this year compared to last year. [October 2024 to October 2025]

Imagine that during the time you read this Statement line by line, many people are waiting in the black holes of this criminal regime for the moment of their murder. The regime kills and takes life in order to remain and continue its systematic murder, plunder and aggression.

This state-sponsored murder is not only a systematic oppression and crime, but also means the slaughter of the concept of humanity. Therefore, we write this statement to the free people and call on everyone to consider the united and universal fight against executions as an integral part of our activities and to make a more comprehensive effort to permanently abolish this disgrace on the face of human society.

We appreciate the ongoing struggle against the death penalty and are reminded that each of us is fighting a government that ranks first in committing this organized state crime worldwide. Therefore, it is essential that a large part of our struggle be dedicated to this issue.

What we need to consider in our struggles against the death penalty

• The Islamic regime is trying to avenge its losses in the 12-day war by Israel against the Iranian people and is murdering its opponents under the pretext of espionage for Israel, but really to ensure its own security.
• The revenge of these criminals has engulfed all sectors of society from students and labor activists to ethnic groups, women and queers, we are all standing in an endless line to execute the sentence, and our turn has not yet come… Therefore, all of us in various protest movements must actively and unitedly take action against executions.
• The Islamic Republic always highlights a range of crimes in the fight against the death penalty, which, although not political in nature, are handed over to the most political tool of the government, the gallows. Let us not forget the #No_to_the_death_penalty means saying “NO” to all executions, from political prisoners to drug convicts to whatever the thugs call “criminal cases”.
• Those sentenced to death and their families, regardless of the “crimes” attributed to them, must act unitedly in the fight against this inhuman punishment. Execution is a political decision of the government, and those sentenced to non-political crimes have entered the political arena, whether they choose to or not.
• The Tuesday No to Executions campaign [weekly hunger strike by prisoners currently at 52 prisons throughout Iran] is a militant and humane achievement resulting from the Woman Life Freedom rebellion. We must guard this valuable achievement and express solidarity with political prisoners every week and expand it.
• Disarming the death penalty regime requires comprehensive and nationwide protests against the death penalty by all sectors of society; on this basis, one of the main axes of daily protests by worker, retirees, teachers, students, nurses, etc., should be a consistent struggle against the death penalty.
• Any political solidarity, coalition and alliance based on “Woman Life Freedom” and to overthrow the Islamic Republic regime must include the fight against the death penalty and the permanent abolition of this medieval sentence among its basic principles.

We, students from across the country, emphasize that a more organized and nationwide struggle against the death penalty is one of our focuses on the path of overthrowing the Islamic Republic.

The execution regime must be destroyed

Victory to the #WomanLifeFreedom revolution