Credit: Shabnam Madadzadeh
On Saturday 10 October 2026, Iranian human rights activist Shabnam Madadzadeh announced that Luxembourg residents and members of the Iranian community had gathered for a solidarity run and walk to mark World Day Against the Death Penalty, calling for an end to executions in Iran.
The event was organised by the Association for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran, the Association of Youth for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran and the International Association of Women for Justice, with support from Amnesty International Luxembourg and CLAE.
According to the organisers, the Luxembourg gathering formed part of an international initiative involving simultaneous solidarity events in nine countries: Luxembourg, the United Kingdom (UK), Norway, Sweden, Australia, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Germany.
Participants completed two laps of a park, wearing bibs displaying photographs of political prisoners executed in Iran to honour their memory and express solidarity with their families.
According to the human rights activist, Luxembourg Member of Parliament Paul Galles joined the solidarity run, while Giovanna Lanni, President of Amnesty International Luxembourg, addressed participants. Representatives of Amnesty International and CLAE also attended the gathering.
During her speech, Giovanna Lanni reaffirmed Amnesty International's opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances, regardless of the nature of the crime or the identity of the accused.
She raised concerns about the increasing number of executions in Iran, highlighting the use of national security charges, torture, unfair trials and public executions to suppress dissent.
Referring to the global situation, she stated that Amnesty International had recorded 2,334 new death sentences in 2025, while at least 25,508 people were known to be under sentence of death.
She urged countries that retain capital punishment to abolish it or introduce an immediate moratorium on executions, stressing that the death penalty does not deter crime more effectively than other punishments and carries the risk of irreversible miscarriages of justice.
"We will continue to demonstrate, run and walk until we achieve the universal abolition of the death penalty," she stated.
The organisers also expressed concern about the situation of political prisoners in Iran. According to their figures, at least 45 political prisoners have been executed since 19 March 2026, while more than 100 others face the death penalty.
They highlighted several individual cases, including Soraya Abolhassani, Taraneh Rahimian, Arghavan Fallahi, Ehsan Faridi and Amirhassan Akbari Monfared.
The organisers alleged that Iranian authorities use executions to intimidate the population and discourage political opposition. They called on the international community to condemn executions, seek accountability for human rights violations and take urgent action to protect prisoners facing death sentences.
They also urged international support for unrestricted internet access in Iran and the Iranian people's right to determine their country's future, while opposing foreign military intervention.
The Luxembourg event, reportedly, concluded with a message of solidarity with prisoners and their families, joining similar gatherings across eight other countries in calling for an end to the death penalty in Iran.
