Toomaj Salehi: Iranian rapper sentenced to death

Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi is facing a death sentence for his involvement in the 2022-2023 unrest following the death of Mahsa Amini due to police brutality.

Salehi, who supported the protests with his music, was initially sentenced to six years in prison last year, narrowly avoiding the death penalty.

The 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman, Mahasa, was initially arrested for allegedly wearing an ‘improper’ hijab, and she later died in police custody. Mahasa Amini's death triggered nationwide protests.

Nearly two years after the protests, Toomaj Salehi has been sentenced by an Iranian revolutionary court for his alleged role in the 2022-23 unrest.

Media reports state that Salehi has been accused of aiding “sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots" by the Revolutionary Court.

Initially, Salehi was arrested on November 30 for spreading "lies on the internet" and "propaganda against the state" as well as inciting violence and "having formed and managed illegal groups with the aim of disrupting security in cooperation with a government hostile" to Iran.

According to reports received by a fact-finding mission appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, at least 26 people have been sentenced to death in connection with the protests, while dozens more have been charged with offenses carrying the death penalty.