According to media reports, Tomaj Salehi participated in anti-government protests. At first he was sentenced to six years in prison, but the court changed the decision.
Iranian authorities have imposed a death sentence on popular rapper Tomaj Salehi, who actively participated in the anti-government protests of 2022-2023. This was reported by Reuters and the human rights organization Iran Human Rights (IHR).
Human rights activists say Salehi was found guilty of “spreading corruption on earth,” a concept used by Iranian authorities to describe a wide range of crimes, including those related to Islamic morality.
Salehi’s lawyer Mustafa Neli announced his intention to appeal the death sentence.
The rapper was detained and taken into custody in October 2022, according to Reuters. He has been accused of supporting anti-government protesters, including through his songs and public appearances. In 2023, Iran’s Supreme Court sentenced Salehi to six years and three months in prison. However, the court of the city of Isfahan reviewed the decision of the Supreme Court and sentenced the perpetrator to death.
Human rights activists note that the increase in the number of death sentences indicates the desire of the Iranian authorities to “sow fear in society” in order to suppress protests and prolong their rule. They call on the international community to respond decisively to the actions of the Iranian authorities to prevent hundreds of new victims in the coming months.
Iranian authorities executed 582 people in 2022, up 333 from 2021, according to Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty. Of these, 71 death sentences were officially announced in only 511 cases, and the executions of at least 16 women and three minors were also reported.
The Iranian authorities are actively trying to suppress the publication of any information about what is happening in the country. More than 40 journalists have been arrested since the protests began, and those who remain free complain of surveillance and wiretapping of their phones.
Toumaj Salehi supported Ukraine
Note that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, Iranian rapper Toumaj Salehi released a video in support of Ukraine.
Let us recall that in November 2022, a court in Tehran sentenced to death a participant in the protests that began throughout Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after a meeting with the “morality police.”
