Iranian hip hop star sentenced to death

Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi has been sentenced to death.

An Iranian revolutionary court sentenced the well-known hip hop star today (April 24) for charges linked to Iran’s 2022-23 unrest, his lawyer told the Iranian newspaper Sharq.

Salehi was initially arrested in October 2022 after voicing support for the nationwide Woman, Life, Freedom protests.

Salehi showed solidarity for the months-long protests in his songs, which were sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman arrested for allegedly wearing an ‘improper’ hijab.

He released songs criticising the government, demanding more rights for women in Iran.

He also posted pictures and videos of himself during the demonstrations.

Salehi was then first arrested in October 2022 as a result of the public statements.

He was sentenced in July 2023 to six years and three months in prison for ‘corruption on Earth’.

Salehi previously avoided a death sentence due to a Supreme Court ruling.

He was released on bail on November 18, 2023 after the Supreme Court, responding to an appeal, found ‘flaws in the original sentence;.

His case was returned to a lower court for reexamination and possible retrial. 

However, less than two weeks later, the musician was sent back to hail, facing new charges after publicly discussing his torture in prison in a video.

‘Branch One of the Revolutionary Court of (the central city of) Isfahan in an unprecedented move, did not enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling… and sentenced Salehi to the harshest punishment,’ his lawyer Amir Raisian told Sharq on Wednesday.

The Iranian judiciary has not confirmed the sentence yet.

Salehi has 20 days to appeal the ruling.

‘We will definitely appeal this verdict,’ his lawyer confirmed.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.

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