Iranian rapper sentenced to death for attacking regime in lyrics

“Have you not suffocated us [and] f***ed us up enough?” asked Toomaj Salehi in one of his songs, taking a stand against the Iranian government.

“How is it going, ‘superior economy?’ How is it going, ‘regional power?’ … Hey, ‘the most respected passport’; how are your borders?” he continued.

However, for lyrics such as these and for supporting protests against the Iranian regime, Salehi, 33, could pay the ultimate price. Last week he was sentenced to death by hanging by a revolutionary court in the central city of Isfahan, his home town.

Salehi, a metalworker by trade, was arrested in 2022 for supporting anti-regime protests. The demonstrations erupted across the country following the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was arrested for not wearing the hijab, the Islamic headscarf.

Officially charged with “corrupting the earth” under Iran’s strict legal code, Salehi has since been held in solitary confinement and claims to have been tortured in prison.

At first he was sentenced to six years in prison, but that was increased to the death penalty last Wednesday, prompting a wave of international criticism and demonstrations by Iranian campaigners abroad.

Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement Salehi was a “prominent and fearless artist”, adding that “Iran’s deliberate attempts to silence dissenting voices are clear for all to see”.

Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said: “We strongly condemn the death sentence for Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi. His voice amplifies the aspirations of the Iranian people and all those silenced by the regime. We call for his immediate release.”

A group of UN special rapporteurs signed a letter urging Iran to reverse the sentence. “We are alarmed by the imposition of the death sentence and the alleged ill-treatment of Mr Salehi which appears to be related solely to the exercise of his right to freedom of artistic expression and creativity,” they said. “As harsh as Mr Salehi’s songs are to the government, they are a manifestation of artistic freedom and cultural rights.”

Salehi had been a critic of the regime since before the protests, releasing a track, Rat Hole, in 2021 that criticised government supporters in the West. He was briefly released last year on bail, but was rearrested after broadcasting a video in which he described his torture in detention.

Protesters in London wearing Salehi masks set up mock gallows outside Downing Street on Sunday. “Stop executions in Iran”, they chanted. Other protests were held in European and North American cities.

In Iran jailed dissidents issued a statement condemning the sentencing, saying it was the “culmination of gross human rights violations” in the country.

Salehi is one of several artists who have been jailed by the Iranian government. The rapper Saman Yasin has been sentenced to five years in prison and the award-winning composer Mehdi Rajabian is serving a three-year sentence.

Since the 2022 protests, hardliners in the Iranian government, which is deeply unpopular in the country, have tightened their grip on power, while clamping down on critics and women who flout religious restrictions.

The authorities have arrested women for not wearing the hijab and confiscated their cars, according to an Amnesty International report in March. “Tens of thousands of women have had their cars arbitrarily confiscated as punishment for defying Iran’s veiling laws, while others have been prosecuted and sentenced to flogging or prison terms, or have faced other penalties such as fines or being forced to attend ‘morality’ classes,” the human rights group said.

Executions have also risen sharply, while reformist candidates were largely excluded from taking part in parliamentary elections last month. The elections had a record low turnout after critics called for a boycott.