The rapper dissident Iranian Toomaj Salehi was sentenced to death for his involvement in the anti-government protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022. The 32-year-old artist had previously escaped a conviction but on Tuesday an Esfahan court overturned the Supreme Court’s decision, upholding the previous verdict of “corruption on earth” and issuing the death penalty. The rapper was arrested, held in solitary confinement and allegedly tortured, according to his lawyer Amir Raesian. If the rapper appeals again, Salehi’s sentence could be reduced by a pardon committee.
The singer suffered a series of arrests
Salehi was arrested and released several times for the irreverent lyrics of his songs that denounce the regime’s social and political injustices. After his arrest in October 2022, he revealed in a video that he had been tortured and placed in solitary confinement for 252 days. The United States and the United Nations have called for Salehi’s release and urged Iranian authorities to overturn the death sentence.
The international disbelief of politicians
The reactions of politicians in the international community were rapid. The vice-president of the Chamber’s Foreign Affairs Commission, Lia Quartapelle, spoke of a “ferocious regime”. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed solidarity in a post on X. German Social Democratic Party MP Ye-One Rhie called for the singer’s release.
Rapper Yasin in a psychiatric hospital
Kurdish-Iranian rapper Saman Yasin, arrested at the height of the 2022 protests, has been transferred to a psychiatric hospital twice in less than a year. A court in Tehran sentenced Yasin to five years in prison.
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