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Toomaj Salehi, a regime-critical rapper known in Iran and among the Iranian diaspora, has been sentenced to death, his lawyer writes on X.
Salehi was arrested in connection with the nationwide protests that broke out in the fall of 2022, after a young woman died in the custody of the notorious morality police where she was taken because she was not considered to have worn her veil properly.
– He wanted to be the voice of the people, his uncle Eghbal Eghbali told TT after he was arrested.
Salehi was accused, among other things, of “spreading corruption in the world” and was first sentenced to prison. For a period he was released on bail – and for twelve days he was able to testify about the torture he had endured during just over a year in prison. He was then detained again, and has been imprisoned ever since. Now a revolutionary court has sentenced him to death for “war against God”, in addition to having “spread corruption in the world”, opposition Iranian media reports.
Mostafa Nili, one of Salehi’s lawyers, writes on X that the sentence will be appealed.
