Iran sentences rapper arrested for protest songs to death | Human rights

A prominent Iranian hip-hop musician was detained for protest lyrics and social media posts and sentenced to death by an Iranian court, the reformist newspaper reported Shargh. In an unprecedented decision, the Isfahan court overturned the Supreme Court’s ruling and upheld the original verdict and maximum sentence.

Toomaj Salehi was detained in October 2022 during nationwide protests that were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who had been detained by the so-called morality police for allegedly violating strict Islamic dress codes. He was released and detained again after appearing in a video where he revealed that he had been tortured and left in solitary confinement for 252 days after his detention in October 2022, UN experts said in a statement published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ( OHCHR).

Salehi, 32, will appeal the sentence, reported the Sharghwhich quotes lawyer Amir Raisian.

The publications online and Salehi’s music fiercely criticized Iran’s Islamic leadership and the rapper is a strong supporter of the rebellion, mostly led by women and young people.

The detention was heavily criticized by the US Government, as well as several human rights groups, including Amnesty International.

Salehi was initially sentenced in July 2023 to more than six years in prison and charged with “corruption on Earth,” a crime that carries the death penalty under Iran’s Islamic laws. He was released in November 2023 for two weeks before of being detained again on new charges.