An Iranian rapper, Toomaj Salehi, has been sentenced to death by the Branch One of the Revolutionary Court of Isfahan, according to his lawyer Amir Raisian. The Revolutionary Court had accused Salehi of “assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots”. Salehi, 33, was arrested in 2022 after publicly backing the wave of demonstrations triggered by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. He was sentenced in 2023 to six years and three months in prison, but avoided a death sentence due to a Supreme Court ruling. Salehi’s music had become part of the anti-regime protests. However, the Revolutionary Court has now sentenced Salehi to the harshest punishment. Salehi has 20 days to appeal the ruling. Iranian officials have labelled the protests “riots” and accused Tehran’s foreign foes of fomenting the unrest. Nine men have been executed in protest-related cases involving killing and other violence against security forces.
Iranian rapper sentenced to death for protest music
