An Iranian court has sentenced rapper Toomaj Salehi to death, drawing criticism from United Nations human rights officials. Salehi has been jailed for over a year and a half for supporting protests sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini.
“Branch 1 of Isfahan Revolutionary Court… sentenced Toomaj Salehi to death on the charge of corruption on Earth,” said Salehi’s lawyer, Amir Raisian, according to the reformist Shargh newspaper. Iran’s judiciary confirmed the death sentence but stated he is entitled to a sentence reduction, Reuters reported.
Salehi, 33, was arrested in October 2022 after backing demonstrations triggered by Amini’s death in custody. Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, was detained over an alleged breach of Iran’s strict dress rules for women. Months of unrest followed Amini’s death, resulting in hundreds killed and thousands arrested. Iranian officials labelled the protests “riots” and blamed foreign foes for instigating them.
Salehi was accused of “assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots,” said Raisian.
U.N. human rights officials demanded Salehi’s immediate release and urged Iranian authorities to reverse the sentence, stating, “Criticism of government policy, including through artistic expression is protected under the rights to freedom of expression and the right to take part in cultural life. It must not be criminalised.” The Supreme Court ordered the lower court to “remove the flaws in the sentence,” but the lower court, in an unprecedented move, emphasized its independence and did not implement the ruling.
Raisian said he and Salehi will appeal against the sentence, noting, “The fact is that the verdict of the court has clear legal conflicts… The contradiction with the ruling of the Supreme Court is considered the most important and at the same time the strangest part of this ruling.” [Source: CBS News]
