Iran, dissident rapper sentenced to death

Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi was sentenced to death for his involvement in the protests that swept Iran in 2022 following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. His lawyer, interviewed by CNN, gives the news. “An order has been issued for the execution of Toomaj Salehi,” the lawyer, Amir Raesian, tweeted. The musician was arrested, held incommunicado and allegedly tortured after his arrest. In an unprecedented move, an Isfahan court two days ago overturned the Supreme Court’s decision in Saleh’s case, upholding the original verdict and handing down the maximum death penalty, according to reformist Iranian media Shargh and Entekhab. State media said Salehi’s sentence would be subject to reduction by a pardon committee if he appeals again. Salehi, 32, expresses his dissent towards the Iranian regime and the government in his rap lyrics. Briefly released from prison last year, he was arrested again after appearing in a video in which he revealed he had been tortured and placed in solitary confinement for 252 days following his arrest in October 2022.