Iran orders death for 'world's bravest rapper' Toomaj Salehi for supporting Mahsa Amini protest

Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi sentenced to death. Source: Youtube/Toomaj Salehi

In an effort to curb voices of dissent, Iran’s judiciary awarded a death sentence to a well-known Iranian rapper named Toomaj Salehi. The 33-year-old rapper was arrested in October 2022 after he publically supported the nationwide protest which was triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

Salehi’s lawyer Amir Raisian confirmed the news and stated they he was sentenced to death for charges linked to Iran’s 2022-2023 unrest. However, he maintained that the rapper is still entitled to get the sentence reduced.

“Branch One of the Revolutionary Court of (the central city of) Isfahan in an unprecedented move, did not enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling …. and sentenced Salehi to the harshest punishment,” his lawyer Amir Raisian told Sharq.

“We will definitely appeal this verdict,” he added.

What are the charges?

The media wing of the Iranian judiciary confirmed that Salehi was being charged with “corruption on earth”. The court made it clear the sentence can be only reduced if he expresses “remorse and cooperation with authorities.”

With the sentencing, Salehi has 20 days to appeal his sentence to the Supreme Court. If the sentence is upheld by the Iranian Supreme Court, the judiciary’s amnesty commission will review his case and potentially commute his sentence.

It is important to note that in July last year, the Iranian Supreme Court rejected Salehi’s charges of “corruption on earth,” a capital offence under Iran’s Islamic laws. While Salehi’s lawyer called it an “unprecedented move” by the judiciary, the ruling was not enforced.

Shortly after the death sentence was made public, the hashtag “#FreeToomaj” started trending on social media, with many people calling for the rapper’s immediate release.

Salehi’s sentencing came just days after the Iranian authorities sentenced an uncle of Mahsa Amini to prison for over five years. Amini’s uncle was accused of making anti-government comments during protests following his Iranian-Kurdish niece’s death.

Salehi played an integral role in the nationwide protest. He wrote raps about the protests and posted pictures and videos online. He was eventually touted as the “world’s bravest rapper” by the Western media.

In 2023, he was sentenced to six years and three months in prison but avoided a death sentence due to a Supreme Court ruling. However, his case was returned for reexamination.

The musician faced fresh charges after he publically discussed the torture he faced in prison in a video.

With inputs from agencies.