Stop the executions!

Today, as our country is suffocating under the weight of crippling economic crises, unbridled inflation, the collapse of the rial, the military aggression of the United States and Israel, the continuation of a devastating war, economic sanctions, severe and widespread repression, and warmongering policies, the rulers once again respond to the people’s demands for bread, work, justice, freedom, and human dignity with the most brutal tool of terror: the gallows.

The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (SWTSBC), like all independent labour organizations in Iran and around the world, completely opposes the death penalty and capital punishment under any title, with any accusation, and without any exception.

The death penalty is not an instrument for administering justice; rather, it is a structural and organized weapon designed to create terror, paralyze social movements, and suppress independent grassroots organizations. Whether under the pretext of national security, charges such as “enmity against God” (moharebeh), or wartime conditions, the escalating wave of executions in prisons is directly aimed at silencing the voices of an oppressed people who can no longer bear poverty and disenfranchisement.

We, as workers, have learned that when the gallows are erected, it is workers, political dissidents, marginalized populations, youth rebelling against the status quo, human rights defenders, and victims of poverty, misery, economic insecurity, and addiction who are sent to the hangman’s noose. Ruling classes have always used executions to stifle the protests of oppressed peoples.

Global labour organizations are fundamentally opposed to capital punishment, viewing its execution against political dissidents and ordinary citizens as a tool for societal suppression and intimidation. Based on its fundamental conventions, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has also declared the “right to life” and personal security as the primary and inseparable preconditions for realizing the freedom of association and trade union activities.

We, the workers, oppose the death penalty—not only because capital punishment is anti-human and must be abolished worldwide, but also because no worker is free under the shadow of the threat of execution. When governments reserve the right to take human lives, the right to organize, establish independent syndicates, and the right to strike and protest become meaningless.

We condemn all political executions and show trials conducted summarily. The charges brought against political prisoners, social activists, women, students, teachers, rebellious youth, and protesting workers are fabricated scenarios, advanced especially under wartime conditions and without even observing the legal procedures of these very existing laws. Every prisoner, whether political or ordinary, possesses fundamental rights that are unfortunately constantly violated in our country.

We call upon trade unions, transport workers, global federations, and all independent labour organizations around the world to be our voice. Demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to the war, the immediate halt of all executions in Iran, the unconditional release of all imprisoned trade union and political activists, and the complete abolition of the death penalty.

The death penalty must be abolished immediately!

Political prisoners must be freed!

No to war, military intervention, aggression, and warmongering policies!

The remedy for workers and toilers is unity and organization.

Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company

13 August 2026

Note: The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, commonly known as the Vahed Syndicate, is an independent labour union representing over 17,000 drivers and workers for the public transit system in Greater Tehran, Iran. Formed originally in 1958, it has a long history of organizing strikes and advocating for better wages, job security, and independent worker rights despite facing severe state repression, arrests, and imprisonment of its leaders.