Famous Iranian rapper sentenced to death for supporting protest movement

An Iranian court has sentenced to death a famous Iranian rapper who has been in prison for more than a year and a half, for his support of the protest movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. Local media report this.

“The Revolutionary Court of Isfahan sentenced Toomaj Salehi to death for corruption on earth, one of the most serious charges in Iran,” the singer’s lawyer said. “The court has charged Salehi with sedition, conspiracy, propaganda against the system and incitement to riots.”

The 33-year-old rapper was arrested in October 2022. Through his songs and social networking sites, he had supported the protest movement that erupted after the death on September 16, 2022, of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurdish woman who was arrested by the moral police for violating the strict dress code for women.

Several hundred people, including members of the security forces, were killed and thousands of others were arrested during the protests that took place in October and November 2022 in Iran. According to NGOs, nine people were executed in connection with the uprising.