A popular dissident Iranian rapper has been sentenced to death for supporting protests over the death of a woman arrested for wearing an 'improper' hijab.
Toomaj Salehi, 33, will be hanged for charges linked to a period of nationwide unrest following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in 2022, Salehi's lawyer told Iranian newspaper Sharq on Wednesday.
In public statements, Salehi had vocalised support for the wave of 'Women, Life, Freedom' demonstrations, leading to his arrest in October 2022.
He also released songs criticising the Iranian regime and demanding greater liberties and women's rights. Salehi had posted pictures of himself attending some of the protests in support of Iranian-Kurd Mahsa Amini.
Amini died in September 2022 after being arrested for allegedly violating strict hijab rules. Demonstrations since have led to thousands of arrests, as well as reports of torture and death at the hands of the Iranian state.
Following his 2022 arrest, Salehi was sentenced last year to six years and three months in prison for 'corruption on Earth', but avoided a death sentence due to a Supreme Court ruling.
The Supreme Court found 'flaws in the original sentence' and returned the case to a lower court for re-examination.
'Branch One of the Revolutionary Court of (the central city 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 told Sharq.
The Revolutionary Court had accused Salehi of 'assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots',Raisian said.
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 has since alleged torture in prison, according to Iran Wire.
The rapper refuted the accusations against him during the trial in March, according to Raisian.
The rapper's page on Twitter/X, managed by his relatives, said at the time the only just verdict would be his full 'acquittal and release'.
'There was no legal and justified citation,' they claimed.
In a social media post prior to his arrest, Salehi wrote: 'You should know that I am not afraid of death, imprisonment, and torture.
'What I fear is to see women sell their bodies out of want and shut my mouth.
'I am afraid of watching people bend into the trash bin up to their waist [to find food] but remain silent; to see you beat a worker and stay quiet; to witness your killing of a protester and torturing of his justice-seeking family, and shut up… There's a sea of blood between you and me.'
Salehi was first arrested in September 2021 after his songs about corruption, poverty, executions and violence against protestors went viral.
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Toomaj Salehi, 33, will be hanged for charges linked to a period of nationwide unrest following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in 2022, Salehi's lawyer told Iranian newspaper Sharq on Wednesday.
In public statements, Salehi had vocalised support for the wave of 'Women, Life, Freedom' demonstrations, leading to his arrest in October 2022.
He also released songs criticising the Iranian regime and demanding greater liberties and women's rights. Salehi had posted pictures of himself attending some of the protests in support of Iranian-Kurd Mahsa Amini.
Amini died in September 2022 after being arrested for allegedly violating strict hijab rules. Demonstrations since have led to thousands of arrests, as well as reports of torture and death at the hands of the Iranian state.
Following his 2022 arrest, Salehi was sentenced last year to six years and three months in prison for 'corruption on Earth', but avoided a death sentence due to a Supreme Court ruling.
The Supreme Court found 'flaws in the original sentence' and returned the case to a lower court for re-examination.
'Branch One of the Revolutionary Court of (the central city 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 told Sharq.
The Revolutionary Court had accused Salehi of 'assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots',Raisian said.
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 has since alleged torture in prison, according to Iran Wire.
The rapper refuted the accusations against him during the trial in March, according to Raisian.
The rapper's page on Twitter/X, managed by his relatives, said at the time the only just verdict would be his full 'acquittal and release'.
'There was no legal and justified citation,' they claimed.
In a social media post prior to his arrest, Salehi wrote: 'You should know that I am not afraid of death, imprisonment, and torture.
'What I fear is to see women sell their bodies out of want and shut my mouth.
'I am afraid of watching people bend into the trash bin up to their waist [to find food] but remain silent; to see you beat a worker and stay quiet; to witness your killing of a protester and torturing of his justice-seeking family, and shut up… There's a sea of blood between you and me.'
Salehi was first arrested in September 2021 after his songs about corruption, poverty, executions and violence against protestors went viral.
Iranian rapper is sentenced to be hanged for supporting protests
Toomaj Salehi (pictured) will be hanged for charges linked to a period of nationwide unrest following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Iranian police custody in 2022
