An Iranian court has sentenced popular rapper Toomaj Salehi to death for his involvement in nationwide protests that erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini. Salehi, 33, was arrested in October 2022 for publicly supporting the demonstrations that began a month earlier after Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died in police custody. The court charged Salehi with “corruption on Earth,” and his lawyer, Amir Raisian, criticized the verdict, stating that it “in an unprecedented move, emphasized its independence and did not implement the Supreme Court’s ruling.” Raisian added that the Supreme Court had previously reviewed the case and instructed the lower court to rectify flaws in the sentence, emphasizing the legal contradictions within the current verdict. The Revolutionary Court accused Salehi of “assistance in sedition, assembly, and collusion, propaganda against the system, and calling for riots.” The protests that followed Amini’s death resulted in the killing of hundreds of individuals, including many security personnel, and the arrest of thousands more. Iranian officials labeled the demonstrations as “riots” and accused foreign entities of inciting the unrest. To date, nine individuals have been executed in connection with violent crimes against security forces during the protests.
Iranian Rapper Sentenced to Death for Supporting Protests
