An Iranian court has sentenced to death a famous Iranian rapper, imprisoned for more than a year and a half for his support for the 2022 protest movement triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, local media reported on Wednesday April 25. “The revolutionary court of Isfahan (…) sentenced Toomaj Salehi to the death penalty for corruption on Earth”, one of the most serious charges in Iran, said the singer's lawyer, Amir Raisian , quoted by the daily Shargh.
The revolutionary court had accused Mr. Salehi of “incitement to sedition,” “assembly,” “conspiracy,” “propaganda against the system” and “calling for riots,” according to the lawyer. This conviction is “unacceptable”, denounced the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. “France strongly condemns this decision, which is in addition to the numerous other death sentences and unjustifiable executions linked to the fall 2022 protests in Iran,” declares the Quai d’Orsay.
Support from foreign artists
These convictions and the “numerous other serious and unacceptable violations of fundamental rights and freedoms committed by the Iranian authorities cannot serve as a response to the legitimate aspirations for freedom of the Iranian people,” adds the Quai d’Orsay.
The 33-year-old rapper was arrested in October 2022. He had supported in his songs and on social networks the protest movement triggered by the death, on September 16, 2022, of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurd detained by the Iranian police. morals, which accused him of having violated the strict dress code for women.
Foreign artists then gave him their support, fearing that he would be sentenced to death. Several hundred people, including members of the security forces, were killed and thousands arrested during protests held in October and November 2022 in Iran, before ebbing. Nine people were executed in connection with this uprising, according to non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
