Iranian rapper sentenced to death for supporting protests, reports say

According to local media reports on Wednesday, an Iranian court has handed down a death sentence to a well-known rapper who has been in jail for over 18 months due to his involvement in supporting nationwide protests triggered by the tragic passing of Mahsa Amini.

According to the reformist Shargh newspaper, Toomaj Salehi, the singer, has been sentenced to death by Branch 1 of Isfahan Revolutionary Court on the charge of corruption on Earth, as confirmed by his lawyer, Amir Raisian.

Salehi, a 33-year-old individual, was taken into custody in October 2022 for openly supporting the series of protests that began a month prior. The protests were sparked by the tragic death of 22-year-old Amini, an Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code imposed by the Islamic republic.

The court “in an unprecedented move, emphasised its independence and did not implement the Supreme Court’s ruling”, the lawyer said, adding that “we will certainly appeal against the sentence”.

“The Supreme Court, as an appellate authority, had reviewed the case and issued a ruling to the lower court to remove the flaws in the sentence,” he added.

“The fact is that the verdict of the court has clear legal conflicts,” the lawyer was quoted as saying.

“The contradiction with the ruling of the Supreme Court is considered the most important and at the same time the strangest part of this ruling.”

The Revolutionary Court had accused Salehi of “assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots”, he said.

Months of unrest following Amini’s death on September 16, 2022 saw hundreds of people killed including dozens of security personnel, and thousands more arrested.

Iranian officials 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.