Hundreds ran or walked 5K in Trent Park on 10 October, organisers say, London's part of a nine-city protest against executions in Iran. Photos and video.

Hundreds of people ran, jogged and walked 5K through Trent Park on Saturday 10 October to call for an end to executions in Iran, according to the organisers. Most came from the Barnet and Enfield communities, they say.

The run was London’s part of an international day of action on the World Day Against the Death Penalty, with runs on the same day in Paris, Cologne, Rome, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Oslo, Sydney and Luxembourg. We previewed the London run the week before.

Women for Free Iran, which brought the run to us, sent a written report and photographs from the day. The report calls the event the Run for Life 5K; the banners on the course read Run for a Free Iran. It says the run “used sport as a peaceful way to raise awareness of human rights and the growing concerns surrounding the use of the death penalty in Iran”.

A runner in a Stop Executions in Iran T-shirt breaks the ribbon under the Finish arch in Trent Park, holding a water bottle aloft, with Iranian flags along the path behind her
A runner breaks the ribbon at the finish arch in Trent Park. Photo: via Women's Committee NCRI

What the runners were marking

Along the route, runners passed banners carrying the faces of people the organisers say were executed in Iran in 2026. Many ran in white T-shirts printed “Stop Executions in Iran”.

The report says the runs “symbolised the long and difficult struggle of the Iranian people for freedom and justice”, and expressed solidarity with political prisoners facing death sentences and people detained for protesting or for their political views.

“For the participants at Trent Park, the 5K Run was more than a sporting event. It was an opportunity to stand publicly with prisoners and families affected by executions and to help ensure that their situation receives international attention.”

It adds:

“Through the symbolic runs and solidarity gatherings, participants sought to remind the international community that behind every execution is a human life, a family and a community affected by its loss.”

A woman in a Stop Executions in Iran, Run for a Free Iran T-shirt and backpack stands on a path in front of a Stop Executions in Iran London banner
A participant in front of the Stop Executions in Iran banner on the Trent Park course. Photo: via Women's Committee NCRI

The figures the campaign cites

These are the organisers’ figures and the reports they quote. We have not been able to check them independently.

  • The campaign organisers say more than 1,300 executions have taken place in Iran, and that 46 political prisoners were executed during 2026.
  • A report by the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (WNCRI), published on 8 October 2026, says at least 54 women were executed in Iran between October 2025 and October 2026, at least 29 of them since the start of 2026, and that at least eight were mothers. The report says these are only documented cases, because internet shutdowns, censorship and concealment make complete figures hard to obtain.
  • The organisers’ report cites the case of Najmeh Amini, 23, who it says was sentenced to death for posting her views on social media.

The report says UN human rights experts called for an immediate halt to executions in Iran in a statement ahead of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, warning that the death penalty was being used to silence dissent. It says Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, shared that call.

The hunger strike behind bars

The London run also backed the No to Execution Tuesdays campaign, which the report describes as a prisoner-led weekly hunger strike. It says the strike had reached its 142nd consecutive week by October 2026 and was active in 66 prisons across Iran.

According to the report, Gina Romero, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, wrote on social media:

“The death penalty is being used against people for exercising their rights to freedom of assembly, association, and expression, as well as their political rights.”

She said she was joining the hunger strike in solidarity: “They are risking everything behind bars. I’m joining them from the outside.”

The report says supporters of the campaign include Jim Shannon, MP for Strangford; Professor Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a former Vice-President of the European Parliament; and Struan Stevenson, a former Member of the European Parliament. It says Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, called on X for independent international inspections of Iran’s prisons and for officials to be prosecuted for crimes against humanity under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Two women in Stop Executions in Iran T-shirts make peace signs on the stage in front of a large Run for a Free Iran banner reading Stop Executions in Iran, London 2026
Two participants on the stage in front of the Run for a Free Iran banner. Photo: via Women's Committee NCRI

Nine cities, one day

The Academics in Exile Association, which backed the London run, posted a short film from the nine cities. “We run for those who cannot. We speak for those who are silenced,” it wrote.

Runners in the nine cities on 10 October. Video: via the Academics in Exile Association

The organisers also sent clips from the runs elsewhere: Oslo, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Paris, Luxembourg, Rome and London (Women’s Committee NCRI, Academics in Exile Association).

What it means for you

The run is over, but Women for Free Iran says it will share more pictures and video from the day, and we will add them here when they arrive. The campaign’s own page, Run for a Free Iran, lists the cities that took part. For what is coming up in the borough, see What’s On in Enfield.