April 25, 2024 - It was announced by a court in Iran that a death sentence has been issued against the dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi. A prominent and outspoken critique of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Toomaj was imprisoned following the murder of Mahsa Amini and the ensuing protests that rocked the country. Toomaj, aged 34, is known in Iran for his courageous stance as an underground rapper who fearlessly confronts human rights violations and political repression by the Islamic Republic.
Toomaj, through his music and lyrics has been a leading popular voice of a nation fed up with years of bloody rule by the criminal regime of mullahs and their fascist arm; the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC).
Hailing from Shahin Shahr in Isfahan Province, Toomaj has spent the majority of the past 19 months behind bars. His ordeal began with his arrest in October 2022 by agents of the IRGC’s intelligence organization for participating in widespread anti-regime protests known as the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.
According to his lawyer, the revolutionary court accused him of “assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots” and considered these charges as examples of “corruption on earth”, which is punishable by death.
Toomaj was released on bail on November 18, 2023 after Supreme Court found “flaws in original sentence” and returned the case to a lower court for reexamination and possible retrial.
Upon his release, he shared a nearly 15-minute-long video on his YouTube channel on November 27, 2023 revealing that he refused to admit guilt to arbitrary charges or cooperate with security forces despite facing torture and other ill-treatments.
Three days after publishing the video, he was arrested again by armed plainclothes agents on November 30, 2023 and accused of “publishing false information and disturbing public opinion.
Since his arrest, he has been subject of extreme physical and mental torture and spent months in solitary confinement. Despite that, the blood thirsty regime has failed to get a forced statement from Toomaj, which has enraged his torturers to the point of asking for his head.
“This underscores the glaring unlawfulness and injustice of the Islamic Republic’s judicial system, which has been weaponized and used as a tool by the state security forces to crush dissent and perpetuate political repression”, states the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “Not only was Toomaj imprisoned for participating in a peaceful protest, but now a lower court, acting as a willful instrument of the state’s security apparatus, has unlawfully sentenced him to death, disregarding the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the initial verdict of a prison sentence.” said CHRI Executive Director.
The Minnesota Committee in support of Democracy in Iran (MCSDI) strongly condemns the Islamic regime’s shameful act of murder and intimidation against its own people. We believe this is a clear sign of this rouge regime’s desperation, in light of its defeats and failed policies in the region and its international isolation and is the driving force behind this and other acts of violence witnessed in Iran during the recent weeks and months.
In light of such extreme atrocities, we ask for support from all freedom loving people, and believe the world’s silence in response to this blatant effort to silence dissent in Iran will only embolden further human rights abuses and terror by the forces of evil in Tehran.
