Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi Sentenced to Death for Songs Critical of Government (2024)

Toomaj Salehi, a dissident Iranian rapper, was sentenced to death earlier this week for releasing music critical of the government and in support of the 2022 protests in Iran.

Salehi’s lawyer, Amir Raesian, confirmed the sentence on Twitter, writing, “An order for the execution of Toomaj Salehi has been issued.” Raesian plans to appeal the sentence, which could lead to it being reduced.

As The New York Times reports, Salehi was arrested in Oct. 2022 in the midst of the uprising sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who was arrested by Iran’s morality police and later died in their custody. Salehi was ultimately charged with “spreading corruption on earth,” a death penalty offense, for releasing music critical of the government and urging his followers to join the protests in videos shared on social media.

Following his arrest, allegations emerged that Salehi was being held in solitary confinement and tortured, with U.N. experts saying he had a broken nose, several broken fingers, and damaged legs. There were also concerns that his court hearings were taking place behind closed doors without his lawyer present.

In July 2023, a lower court in the city of Isfahan finally sentenced Salehi to over six years in prison, with a U.S. State Department document also saying he was banned from making music or singing for two years. Then, in November, Salehi was released on bail after Iran’s Supreme Court found flaws with the original sentence, but he was arrested again just two weeks later.

Salehi’s lawyer said there were “obvious legal conflicts” with the death sentence leveled by the Isfahan court, calling it “unprecedented” because it effectively ignored the ruling from the higher Supreme Court.

The death sentence has drawn fierce rebukes from various government and advocacy groups. The office of the U.S. Envoy to Iran said, “We strongly condemn Toomaj Salehi’s death sentence,” while also mentioning the five-year prison sentence handed out to another artist, the Kurdish-Iranian rapper Saman Yasin.

“We call for their immediate release,” the statement continued. “These are the latest examples of the regime’s brutal abuse of its own citizens, disregard for human rights, and fear of the democratic change the Iranian people seek.”

Julie Trébault, director of PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection project, called the sentence “an outrageous attack on human rights and free expression,” adding: “Artists like Salehi, who use their creativity to express dissent against draconian and unjust measures by authoritarian regimes, must be safeguarded from such deliberate violence in recognition of the universal and fundamental right to free expression and artistic freedom.”

News of Salehi’s sentence also spread to some corners of the American hip-hop community, which has spoken out on his behalf in the past. On social media, Meek Mill posted “Free Toomaj!” and “Got sentenced to death over a song free that man wtf.”

In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, Elica Le Bon, a lawyer and Iranian-American activist, called Salehi a “beloved icon for the Iranian people with his unrivaled courage to express life under the brutal regime through hip hop music, an artistic expression that — like most forms of art — is illegal in Iran.”

She added: “It is hard to believe that we live in a time where an incredibly talented rap artist could be lynched from a crane for his musical library, but that is the reality that Iranians face daily, and have been facing daily for the past 45 years.”

Le Bon did note that the Iranian government “tends not to execute people known to the international community.” This has led advocates, especially in the Iranian diaspora, to adopt the “say their names to save their lives” campaign in an effort to raise international awareness for political prisoners in Iran. “For that reason, this is part of an urgent campaign for readers to talk about Toomaj as much as you can, using the hashtag #FreeToomaj or #ToomajSalehi,” Le Bon said. “Every comment makes a difference, and if we were wrong, what did we lose by trying?” (Le Bon’s full statement is below.)

Elica Le Bon Statement on Toomaj Salehi
As every American hip-hop artist or listener will know, rap has always been a conduit to and the heartbeat of the streets. The music that moves mountains, inspires us, jolts us alive, and awakens generations tells the story of real life under the harshest circ*mstances, in an alluring poetic prose that punches us with a felt truth and bounces perfectly over the beat at the same time. This is who Toomaj Salehi is for Iran. Known to us as “the Tupac of Iran,” he has become a beloved icon for the Iranian people with his unrivaled courage to express life under the brutal regime through hip hop music, an artistic expression that — like most forms of art — is illegal in Iran. Not only is it illegal, but it exposes the artist to spurious charges like “corruption on earth,” which carries with it the death sentence. Sure enough, a few short days ago, the Iranian community was rocked to its core once again to learn that, after two years in prison (with a brief release on bail), Toomaj had been sentenced to death by hanging, for making rap music. It is hard to believe that we live in a time where an incredibly talented rap artist could be lynched from a crane for his musical library, but that is the reality that Iranians face daily, and have been facing daily for the past 45 years.

In some dystopian universe of remedies, there is one potential avenue to help Toomaj. Iranians in the diaspora picked up on the fact that the regime tends not to execute people who become known to the international community. We have seen many examples of prisoners that were either released on bail or had their sentences commuted through our “say their names to save their lives” campaign on social media, using hashtags to garner attention for their causes, and even before social media existed, through getting the stories of political prisoners to international media outlets. Once reported on, and once the eyes shift to the regime and the reality of its pending brutality, realizing that the action is not worth the repercussions, we have seen them back down and not execute. For that reason, this is part of an urgent campaign for readers to talk about Toomaj as much as you can, using the hashtag #FreeToomaj or #ToomajSalehi. Every comment makes a difference, and if we were wrong, what did we lose by trying?

Toomaj is not the only political prisoner at risk of execution. Lesser known names such as Reza Rasaei, Mojahed Kourour, and Abbas Deris are just a few others at risk of imminent execution. Notably, an American national, Jamshid Sharmahd, who was kidnapped and taken to Iran and has been in solitary confinement for the past 3 years has also been sentenced to death by hanging, with a deadline for May 11th if the U.S. government does not hand over upward of $2 billion for his ransom.

Toomaj has carried the voice of Iran, and now it is time for us to carry his voice, as well as all the other political prisoners in Iran who have risked their lives for truth and freedom.