A POPULAR Iranian rapper has been sentenced to death for supporting the anti-regime protests from his songs.
Toomaj Salehi, 33, was arrested in 2022 after publicly backing the wave of demonstrations triggered by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Through his music, he bravely criticised the leadership of Iran, railing against their corruption and crackdowns on dissent.
He was sentenced in 2023 to six years and three months in prison, but avoided a death sentence due to a Supreme Court ruling.
“Branch One of the Revolutionary Court 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 said.
The Revolutionary Court had accused Salehi of “assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots”, he added.
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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 said
Salehi took part in the unprecedented uprising that broke out across Iran in after Amini was beaten to death for wearing an “improper” hijab on on September 16, 2022.
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In what became known as the headscarf revolution, months of unrest followed.
Women of all ages ripped off their compulsory hijabs at public demonstrations in defiance of the nation’s feared morality police.
Hundreds of people were killed, including dozens of security personnel, in a brutal crackdown and thousands of protesters were arrested.
Iranian officials labelled the protests “riots” and accused Tehran’s foreign foes of fomenting the unrest.
Nine men have so far been executed in protest-related cases involving killing and other violence against security forces.
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Iona Cleave
