UN Rapporteur Gina Romero’s hunger strike sparked a wave of international solidarity with Iranian political prisoners.

At a time when dozens of political prisoners and protesters in Iran are facing the threat of execution, a powerful act by Gina Romero, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, helped generate an unprecedented wave of international solidarity with the ‘No To Execution Tuesdays’ campaign.

Her decision to join the campaign’s 24-hour hunger strike and call on others to do the same was far more than a social media post. It became a bridge between Iranian prisoners and the conscience of the international community.

From Prison Cells to the UN

The ‘No To Execution Tuesdays’ campaign emerged from Iranian prisons in February 2024, where political prisoners began a weekly hunger strike in protest against the escalating use of executions and in defense of the right to life. It was a movement born under conditions of isolation and severe repression, and at first few imagined that its message could travel beyond prison walls.

In recent weeks, however, the campaign entered a new phase. Gina Romero, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, announced in a video message that she would join the prisoners’ 24-hour hunger strike in solidarity with them.

In her message, she emphasized that the death penalty in Iran is being used against individuals who have done nothing more than exercise their fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and political participation. Romero also called on people around the world to join the initiative and become the voice of prisoners who have risked their lives in defense of fundamental rights and freedoms.

A Worldwide Wave of Solidarity

What followed this appeal was far more than an ordinary reaction on social media. Human rights advocates, former politicians, civil society leaders, religious figures, and ordinary citizens from different countries joined the movement by sharing photographs, videos, and messages of support.

At the same time, a wave of grassroots participation swept across social media. Women, men, and young people from around the world shared photos and videos of themselves holding signs bearing the message “No to Execution” and announced that they were taking part in the campaign’s symbolic hunger strike.

“A Powerful Sense of Collective Strength”

Perhaps the true impact of this wave of solidarity can be seen in Gina Romero’s message after the hunger strike ended. She wrote:

“It’s midnight in Iran, it’s the end of this week’s #NoToExecutionTuesdays hunger strike. I cannot begin to express how deeply moved I am by the thousands of messages I have received. I am overwhelmed by the solidarity and profoundly grateful to everyone who joined worldwide. I have never felt such a powerful sense of collective strength. I am not a religious person, not even a believer, but I did feel something very strong; it was heavy but also beautiful.”

These words are more than the reflections of an international official. They demonstrate how a thoughtful human act can grow into a far larger movement, bringing thousands of people together around a shared cause.

Breaking the Wall of Silence

The story of No To Execution Tuesdays is not only about opposition to capital punishment. It is also a reminder that even in the darkest circumstances, people deprived of freedom, access to media, and a public platform can still influence global public opinion.

The prisoners who launched this campaign had neither a platform nor the opportunity to participate in public life. Yet their persistence and determination carried their message beyond Iran’s prisons, into the streets of cities around the world, into the chambers of national parliaments, and to the United Nations. Through a single act of solidarity, that message then reached thousands more across the globe.

Gina Romero’s role in this process went far beyond symbolic support. She used her international standing and credibility to draw global attention to a voice that the Iranian regime has sought to silence. The result was one of the broadest waves of international solidarity with the ‘No To Execution Tuesdays’ campaign since its inception.

Walls Are No Longer Barriers

History does not always begin with grand gestures. Sometimes it begins with a simple decision: the decision of one prisoner to protest, the decision of a group of prisoners to persist, and the decision of a woman on the other side of the world to say:

“I hear you, and I stand with you.”

And in doing so, inspire a world to stand with them.