According to reports received by HANA Human Rights Organization, the hunger strike by prisoners in the Drug Offenses Unit Two of Qezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, launched in protest of the transfer of death row inmates to solitary confinement, entered its fourth consecutive day today, Thursday, July 16, 2026.
Videos obtained from inside the prison show striking inmates refusing their food rations and holding up handwritten signs reading “No to Execution,” protesting the carrying out of death sentences, particularly in drug-related cases, and demanding a halt to these executions along with a review of the condemned prisoners’ cases.
HANA had previously reported on the transfer of six death row prisoners from the same unit to solitary confinement, which triggered the hunger strike among the unit’s inmates. According to newly received information, prison security guards raided the unit again on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, and transferred 22 more death row prisoners to solitary confinement, bringing the total number moved into quarantine to 28.
Sources close to HANA say this latest transfer came after the hunger strike began, in response to the prisoners’ protest. It remains unclear, however, whether the move is meant to pave the way for imminent executions or is intended instead to pressure the prisoners, create an atmosphere of fear, and force them to abandon the strike and end their protest.
At the same time, according to information received, prison security has sealed off every door in the unit along with its yard and internal corridors, cutting it off entirely from the rest of the prison. This has deepened concerns about the health and safety of the striking prisoners, their access to basic services, and the possibility that executions could be carried out under conditions with no transparency whatsoever.
Voicing concern over the situation facing prisoners in the Drug Offenses Unit Two, HANA Human Rights Organization is calling for immediate clarity on the condition of those moved into solitary confinement, respect for prisoners’ fundamental rights, and a halt to executions until full compliance with fair trial standards and international human rights obligations can be guaranteed.