According to reports, an Iranian court has sentenced rapper Toomaj Salehi to death after imprisoning him for more than eighteen months for his support of the nationwide protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
According to Amir Raisian, the singer’s lawyer, Salehi has been sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court for corruption on Earth.
The court “in an unprecedented move, emphasised its independence and did not implement the Supreme Court’s ruling,” the lawyer said, adding that “we will certainly appeal against the sentence.”
Tehran’s morality police nabbed Amini, an Iranian Kurdish lady, for allegedly violating the Islamic republic’s rigorous clothing code for women. Following Amini’s death on September 16, 2022, Iran witnessed months of upheaval, with hundreds of people killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands more arrested.
Iranian officials described the protests as “riots” and blamed the turmoil on international provocation by Tehran’s foes. At least nine men have been executed in protest-related crimes involving deaths and attacks on security officers.
More about Toomaj Salehi
Toomaj Salehi, 33, has used music videos to express his criticism to the Iranian administration. Salehi’s songs expressed support for the protests that erupted across Iran in 2022 following Amini’s death.
In one of his most popular songs, “The Mouse Hole,” Salehi openly confronts individuals who assist with the Islamic Republic, warning them to seek safety since they would suffer consequences for their activities. According to ABC News, the songs include phrases like “corporate journalist, cheap informer, court artist, buy a mouse hole”.
Toomaj Salehi was indicted by the Revolutionary Court for “assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system, and calling for riots.”
Salehi was detained in October 2022 after openly supporting the protests that began a month earlier. He was released on bail on November 18, 2022, after the Supreme Court discovered “flaws in the initial sentence” of six years in prison.
The rapper was re-arrested less than two weeks later. He was also arrested in 2021 and then released for songs that criticised the government.
Salehi has been accused of disseminating “lies on the internet” and “propaganda against the state,” as well as encouraging people to engage in violence and “forming and managing illegal groups with the aim of disrupting security in cooperation with a hostile government” towards Iran.
Following Amini’s death, an increasing number of women began appearing in public across the country without following the clothing code, and the morality police maintained a low profile.
However, as of April 13, Iran’s police have begun to tighten controls on women who break the law by stationing patrol vans in major Tehran squares, according to local media.
According to media reports, police in the capital have initiated a campaign nicknamed “Noor,” the Persian word for light, in an effort to crack down on people who violate the hijab dress code, which requires women to cover their hair and bodies in public.
In an effort to address those who violate hijab restrictions, officials have closed cafes and eateries where hijab wearing is not permitted.
