\n<\/p>\n
A dissident rapper has been sentenced to death in Iran after releasing music in support of antigovernment demonstrations that rocked the country in 2022, according to his lawyer, in a case that has prompted global condemnation.<\/p>\n
The rapper, Toomaj Salehi, 33, was one of the most prominent voices among those arrested over nationwide protests against Iran\u2019s clerical rulers after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini<\/a>, 22. Human rights organizations have been calling for Mr. Salehi\u2019s release<\/a>, saying that he has been tortured in prison and warning that he could face execution.<\/p>\n Amir Raesian, Mr. Salehi\u2019s lawyer, told the Iranian reformist newspaper Shargh in an article published on Wednesday<\/a> that a court in the central city of Isfahan had sentenced Mr. Salehi to death and that his client planned to appeal.<\/p>\n The office of the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran condemned the sentence<\/a>, calling it another example of \u201cthe regime\u2019s brutal abuse of its own citizens, disregard for human rights, and fear of the democratic change the Iranian people seek.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Salehi was initially arrested in October 2022 for releasing music criticizing the government and backing the demonstrations ignited by the death of Ms. Amini<\/a> in the custody of Iran\u2019s morality police. He also posted videos<\/a> on his Instagram account encouraging his followers to protest.<\/p>\n The Iranian authorities charged him that November<\/a> with \u201cspreading corruption on earth,\u201d<\/a> an offense that can carry the death penalty. U.N. experts said<\/a> the court proceedings were held behind closed doors without Mr. Salehi\u2019s lawyer present and expressed alarm about reports the artist had been tortured, citing reports of his broken nose and several broken fingers.<\/p>\n In April 2023, rights groups again said that Mr. Salehi \u2014 who was consistently denied access to legal representation \u2014 had been tortured in prison and required urgent medical assistance.<\/p>\n Mr. Salehi was sentenced three months later to over six years<\/a> in prison by a court in Isfahan after a closed-door trial. He was also banned from producing music or singing for two years, according to a State Department document<\/a>. Iran\u2019s Supreme Court found issues with that ruling, and Mr. Salehi was released from prison in November 2023, only to be rearrested less than two weeks later and ultimately charged with \u201cpropaganda against the state,\u201d according to U.N. experts<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Isfahan court\u2019s move to effectively ignore the Supreme Court and hand down a death sentence was \u201cunprecedented,\u201d Mr. Salehi\u2019s lawyer told Shargh.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Center for Human Rights in Iran, an independent advocacy group based in New York, said the death sentence was a \u201cnew low in Iran\u2019s crackdown on dissent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToomaj\u2019s imprisonment stems from his vocal advocacy against state oppression,\u201d it said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cIt is imperative that supporters of free speech and dissent unite to demand his immediate release.\u201d<\/p>\n The State Department, which has described Mr. Salehi as a \u201cpolitical prisoner,\u201d<\/a> called the reports that a death sentence had been handed down \u201cdisturbing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re talking about someone who has already faced torture and other harsh treatments in detention,\u201d Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman, told a news briefing on Wednesday<\/a>. <\/p>\n Mr. Salehi was well known in Iran long before his imprisonment, rapping in Persian about injustice and inequality. <\/span>In lyrics that resonated deeply with Iranian youth, he wrote about poverty, child labor and executions, while calling out the country\u2019s clerics for corruption, state mismanagement and repression.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe upper classes have a voice enough,\u201d he once said in an Instagram video. \u201cI think rap is the voice of the suffocated throats.\u201d<\/p>\n He had his first big hit with \u201cRathole<\/a>\u201d in 2021, rapping about regime apologists in Iran and abroad. The lyrics upset Iran\u2019s leaders: Mr. Salehi was arrested in September 2021<\/a>. He was released on bail after fans and human rights organizations<\/a> campaigned for his freedom.<\/p>\n The episode did not deter Mr. Salehi from pursuing his art: \u201cShall the pen that doesn\u2019t write break. <\/em>Behold what these people have suffered,\u201d he wrote on social media that month<\/a>.<\/p>\n When the antigovernment protests broke out in Iran in September 2022, Mr. Salehi filmed himself with the protesters<\/a> and again used his lyrics to take aim at the country\u2019s clerical leaders.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are the voice of the anger of people whose voice was silenced,\u201d he rapped in \u201cBattlefield,\u201d which was released during the height of the demonstrations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe come to streets like ghosts and become a nightmare for the government,\u201d the lyrics continue, in a music video interspersed with protest footage<\/a>. \u201cWe see the light after this hell. Neither suppression nor law nor execution can stop us.\u201d<\/p>\n The Iranian security forces ultimately killed hundreds of protesters and arrested tens of thousands in a broad crackdown. Since then, the Iranian authorities have carried out a string of executions<\/a> after cursory trials<\/a> on charges linked to the protests<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a video caption posted on Instagram on Oct. 28 \u2014 two days before his initial arrest in 2022 \u2014 Mr. Salehi said, \u201cThis is a revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery step we take is necessary to reach our goal,\u201d he wrote. \u201cJoin us!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n