Iran Prison Horror: Inmates Sew Lips Shut as Hunger Strike Reaches Breaking Point in US Sanctioned Jail

More than 1,000 death row inmates at Iran's Ghezel Hesar Prison have entered the third week of a mass hunger strike in protest against executions, with reports claiming some prisoners have sewn their lips shut as their demonstration intensifies. The protest, which began on July 13, has drawn fresh attention to conditions inside the US-sanctioned prison near Tehran and renewed scrutiny of Iran's use of the death penalty, particularly in drug-related cases.

Human rights groups say the strike started after six inmates were transferred to solitary confinement ahead of possible executions. Since then, prisoners have reportedly continued to protest despite worsening health, chanting 'No to Execution' and taking increasingly desperate measures.

Exiled opposition groups and international human rights organisations have called for urgent action, warning that the physical condition of the striking inmates continues to deteriorate while prison authorities have failed to respond to their demands.

Hunger Strike Enters Third Week

According to the reports, the mass hunger strike began on July 13 after six prisoners were moved into solitary confinement before possible executions. Other Iranian human rights organisations said those inmates had been convicted of drug-related offences.

As the protest entered its third week, reports indicated that prisoners had continued their demonstration by chanting 'No to Execution' while some resorted to sewing their lips shut.

One media outlet cited a video that appeared to show an inmate speaking directly to the camera before saying he was going to sew his lips shut because no prison official had responded after six days of the hunger strike.

One outlet had reported that the footage also appeared to show another prisoner, who remained off camera, 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), said inmates in Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison were in 'deteriorating physical condition' as the hunger strike continued.

'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 organisation said.

The NCRI also stated that the prisoners had appealed to the public, human rights organisations and international bodies to intervene in an effort to stop the executions.

Previous Promises Failed To End Concerns

The current hunger strike is the second large-scale protest reported at Ghezel Hesar Prison in recent months.

According to reports, more than 1,500 inmates staged a six-day hunger strike at the prison in October 2025. That demonstration ended after senior judicial and prison officials visited the facility and promised to temporarily halt executions while reviewing prisoners' cases.

However, human rights activists later said those commitments were never carried out, according to Ynet.

The prison has already been the subject of international sanctions. In 2024, the U.S. State Department designated and sanctioned Ghezel Hesar Prison over what it described as gross human rights violations and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of prisoners.

At the time, then Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, '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.'

The latest protest also comes as Amnesty International reported that the Islamic Republic of Iran executed at least 2,159 people in 2025.

According to the organisation, Iran's total contributed to at least 2,707 executions recorded across 17 countries during the year, marking the highest figure Amnesty International has recorded since 1981.

The organisation noted that those figures do not include China, where execution data remains classified as a state secret, and Amnesty believes thousands of executions were also carried out.