We the 23 independent Iranian women’s organizations, are deeply concerned about the lives of political and ideological prisoners and all those detained during the month of January protests.
Not long after the suppression of the January 2026 people’s uprising and the massacre of protesting people in the streets across the country, people who had risen up for their right to livelihood and their right to life against the dictatorship of the Islamic Republic, the military attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel began. In this context, the people of Iran were subjected to repression from two directions, on the one hand, through foreign military intervention and attacks, and on the other, through intensified repression, arrests, and executions by the Islamic Republic.
A war discourse framed as “regime change” and “liberation,” promoted by figures such as Reza Pahlavi and pro-monarchy supporters, became normalized and helped legitimize military attacks, a discourse that in practice weakened popular struggles and strengthened internal repression. The short and long term outcome of this process has been the weakening and suppression of protest movements, including the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, a movement that opened a horizon of liberation for various oppressed social groups in Iran. Once again, through the experience of war, people have learned that bombs and missiles bring nothing but killing, displacement, poverty (especially for women), suffocation, and the further erasure of people’s agency.
Even after a two-week ceasefire and its repeated extensions, there is still no certainty about whether the war has truly ended or will resume. What is clear, however, is that we are now facing an even more repressive and securitized state, which under the cover of internet shutdown and communication blackouts, is seeking to silence all forms of dissent through executions and mass arrests, imposing an atmosphere of enforced silence. Pressure and threats against political prisoners have increased, and their lives are in grave danger.
Since the start of the war, at least 3,646 people have been arrested, and following the announcement of the ceasefire, at least 767 more have been detained. Since the beginning of the military attacks, 20 prisoners have been executed on political and security related charges, such as alleged affiliation with the “People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran,” participation in the January protests, espionage for Israel, and filming. It should be noted that the pace of executions and accusations of espionage for Israel intensified with the onset of the 12-day war. By maintaining a state of war even after hostilities have been ceased, the regime continues to hold “life” hostage.
In many cases, families still have no information about the conditions of detentions, the whereabouts, or the legal status of their loved ones. According to reports by Iran Human Rights and the organization “Together Against the Death Penalty,” at least 1,639 people were executed in 2025. marking the highest recorded number since 1989, following the mass execution of political prisoners in the summer of 1988. At least 48 of those executed last year were women, once again the Iranian regime has registered the highest number of women executed in the world in its record of crimes.
According to reports from Evin Prison, pressure on political prisoners—especially in the women’s ward has been intensified. Prison authorities have prohibited women prisoners from participating in the “No Execution Tuesdays” campaign and have warned them of the “consequences”. While there are still no precise figures on the number of prisoners sentenced to death, we know that at least two children have been placed on the death row.
We, the 23 women’s organizations acting in solidarity, are closely following the situation inside the country with concern and declare our support for the people’s struggles for freedom, social justice, and the right to life. We believe that under the current critical conditions, no responsibility is more urgent or vital than broad support for the freedom and protection of the lives of thousands of prisoners who, based on historical experience, are at risk of mass killing. Therefore, our immediate demands are: the release of all political, civil, and ideological prisoners, an end to executions, and the abolition of the death penalty.
Woman, Life, Freedom
April 2026
Signatories:
Together for Women’s Health Foundation
Free Iranian Women’s Association – Italy
Dallas Iranian Women’s Association
Iranian-German Women’s Association in Cologne, Germany
Iranian Women’s Association of Parto
Iranian Women’s Association Montreal
MeToo Movement Iran
Iranian Circle of Women for International Networking (ICWIN)
Women for Sustainable Freedom and Equality
Iranian Women Activists in Exile – Berlin
IKERO Women’s Rights Organization
IWIN Iranian Women in Network
The Organization for Emancipation of Women
Everyday Feminism
Forum of Iranian Women in Vienna
Collective of Woman, Life, Freedom – Rome
Campaign to Stop Honor Killings
Gender Equality Committee of Solidarity of Iranian Republicans
Left Unity of Women
Zanan Group in Northern California
Orange County Women’s Study Group
Mannav LGBTQ Community – Sweden
Iranian Women’s Assembly in Hanover