Rapper Toomaj Salehi has served time in his native Iran for using his voice to oppose the authorities there, and recently he’s been sentenced to death for supporting the popular uprisings, Democracy Now! reports. He’s appealing the ruling.
Salehi backs the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran, Patrick Wintour writes in The Guardian. He was arrested in 2022 after speaking out publicly in support of the protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini while she was in police custody in Iran. Salehi claims he was tortured while in prison. When his sentence was changed to the death penalty, the authorities used a strange phrase, sentencing him for “corruption on Earth,” Wintour reports.
Salehi has received international support; groups such as Global Network for Women Life Freedom and Middle East Matters have organized rallies for his freedom. Here’s hoping it makes a positive difference.
Photo: Toomaj Salehi
