Dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi’s lawyer, Amir Raesian, revealed that Salehi has been sentenced to death for his participation in the 2022 protests in Iran. Raesian tweeted,
“An order for the execution of Toomaj Salehi has been issued.”
Salehi, who has been critical of the Iranian regime, was detained, subjected to solitary confinement, and allegedly tortured after his arrest.
In an unusual turn of events, a court in Isfahan overturned the Supreme Court’s decision on Salehi’s case, reinstating the original verdict of “corruption on earth” and imposing the death penalty. Iranian pro-reform outlets Shargh and Entekhab reported this development.
State media indicated that Salehi’s sentence could be reduced by a pardoning committee if he chooses to appeal again.
Salehi, aged 32, had previously been briefly released from prison before being violently rearrested by the police in Isfahan.
Witnesses reported his re-arrest after he appeared in a video disclosing his torture and 252 days of solitary confinement following his October 2022 arrest.
UN experts, as cited by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), confirmed Salehi’s claims of torture.
IranWire reported that Kurdish-Iranian rapper Saman Yasin, arrested during the 2022 protests in Iran, was transferred to a psychiatric hospital twice within a year.
Additionally, according to Hengaw, a group focusing on Kurdish human rights, a court in Tehran sentenced Yasin to five years in prison.
The protests erupted following the suspicious death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody, leading to widespread demonstrations across the country.
Iranian authorities responded with a harsh crackdown on the weeks-long protests.
“We strongly condemn Toomaj Salehi’s death sentence and the five-year sentence for Kurdish-Iranian rapper Saman Yasin. We call for their immediate release,” the United States’ Office of the Special Envoy for Iran tweeted.
“These are the latest examples of the regime’s brutal abuse of its own citizens, disregard for human rights, and fear of the democratic change the Iranian people seek.”
UN experts also demanded Salehi’s release and urged Iranian authorities to reverse the death sentence.
“We are alarmed by the imposition of the death sentence and the alleged ill-treatment of Mr. Salehi which appears to be related solely to the exercise of his right to freedom of artistic expression and creativity,” the experts said.
Salehi’s political sponsor in Europe, German Member of Parliament Ye-One Rhie, called the death sentence against Salehi “absurd and inhumane.”
“It is still completely unclear how this verdict came about,” she tweeted Wednesday. “It is unbelievable how irresponsibly and arbitrarily the Iranian regime treats defendants.
It is impossible to recognize the rule of law in the chaos of the courts in charge.”
