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Toomaj Salehi

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Toomaj Salehi
توماج صالحی
Born (1990-12-03) 3 December 1990 (age 33)
Isfahan, Iran
Other namesToomaj
Criminal chargewaging war against God
corruption on Earth
Musical career
GenresHip hop
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
Years active2017–present

Toomaj Salehi (Persian: توماج صالحی; born 3 December 1990)[1] is an Iranian rapper mainly known for his protest songs concerning Iran's societal issues and the policies of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In July 2023, the Iranian Government sentenced Salehi to six years in prison for participating in the 2022 Iran protests. On 24 April 2024 Salehi was sentenced to death for charges linked to Iran's 2022–23 Woman, Life, Freedom movement, before it was overturned in June 2024.[2]

Early life and education

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Toomaj Salehi was born on 3 December 1990[1] and raised in Isfahan, Iran, to Bakhtiari Lur parents. His mother died from cancer when he was twelve. He studied mechanical engineering before joining his father's workshop in the suburb of Ispahan, where he forged metal parts.[3] His parents were working-class, but the Bakhtiari people, an ethnic group, have historically been tribal leaders and influential in Persian politics. Salehi's father was an activist, and one of one of thousands of leftists arrested in the 1980s, spending eight years as a political prisoner. His mother was also briefly detained.[4]

Toomaj Salehi was introduced to rap music by his brother, and says he was influenced by Tupac Shakur.[5] He started writing his own lyrics when still a teenager.[4]

Career

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Salehi launched his career at the age of 26.[3] At first, studios were not interested in his work as it was too overtly political, but as protests started taking place across Iran, his songs gained traction.[4] He became a hip hop musician mainly known for his protest songs concerning Iran's societal issues and the policies of the Iranian Government.[6][7][8] He has sold personal items, such as his motorcycle, to produce music, as the "rap-e farsi" genre has to take place secretly, being banned by the government. Salehi's targets include political repression, religious pressure, the economy, women's rights, and the corruption of the authorities.[5] Rap is illegal in Iran, and others use pseudonyms to avoid detection, but Salehi has always used his real name.[4] He was barred from performing live in Iran.[4]

His 2021 song, "Soorakh Moosh" ("Mouse Hole" or "Rat Hole"), targets the Islamic Republic directly, as well as Western nations and organisations who turn a blind eye to the oppression, naming US-based lobby group National Iranian American Council (NIAC) in the song.[4]

He openly supported the support for the Woman, Life, Freedom movement and protests, created after the 2022 death-in-custody of Mahsa Jina Amini in 2022. He has supporters within Iran and all over the world, including Coldplay and Sting, for speaking out about human rights abuses, injustice and inequality.[4]

Salehi's day job is working as a labourer at a metalworking factory.[9][10]

Arrests and sentencing

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Iran's security forces arrested Salehi on 12 September 2021, in his house in Shahin Shahr, near Isfahan. He was charged with "propaganda against the regime" and "insulting the supreme leadership authority".[11][12] He was released on bail on 21 September, pending a trial. On 23 January 2022, the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Shahin Shahr sentenced Salehi to six months in jail and a fine.[13][14][15]

Salehi was arrested again on 30 October 2022, during the Mahsa Amini protests.[16][17] Fars news agency, affiliated with the IRGC, described him as one of “the leaders of the riots who promoted violence.”[18] The state media also said that Salehi was arrested during a border-crossing, a claim which was denied by Salehi's social media administrator, who announced that he was arrested in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, not a border province.[18]

Salehi was reportedly charged with "propagandistic activity against the government, cooperation with hostile governments and forming illegal groups with the intention of creating insecurity in the country".[19] The state-backed Young Journalists Club published a video of a blindfolded man it claimed to be Toomaj who admitted, apparently under duress, to making "a mistake". Salehi was reportedly placed in Evin prison.[20][21] According to his family, Iranian authorities have tortured Salehi while in captivity.[22]

His last music YouTube video posted prior to his October 2022 arrest included the lyrics, "Someone's crime was dancing with her hair in the wind. Someone's crime was that he or she was brave and criticized... 44 years of your government. It's the year of failure."[23][24]

On 26 November 2022, the family of Toomaj said his life was at risk after he went on trial behind closed doors.[25][26]

German member of parliament Ye-One Rhie and Canadian Member of Parliament Jonathan Wilkinson have both become his sponsor with an aim to improve conditions during his imprisonment and prevent execution.[27] Tasnim News Agency — a semi-official news agency in Iran — was criticized for disinformation by rights lawyers.[28]

In July 2023, he was sentenced to six years and three months in prison. He was briefly released on bail on 18 November 2023. During this time he released a video in which he alleged that he had been severely tortured after his arrest, and placed in solitary confinement for 252 days, but had not "confessed".[4] He said that the torture included getting an adrenaline injections so that he would not pass out, getting beaten up and having his arms, legs and fingers broken,[4] and staying in a constantly lit cell for more than 200 days. The Department of Intelligence arrested him again for "fake news" in Babul on 30 November,[4] 11 days after he was temporarily released after his bail being paid. His lawyer tweeted that he should have been arrested before Toomaj, that his rearrest is without grounds and therefore a kidnapping. He was getting media coverage after talking to high profile people and events and other artists.[29][30][31][32] He said that he had sued the court of employees of state and media news[33] and Isfahan Province General Intelligence Department, but the judicial system denied that there ever was a lawsuit.

A new trial was held in a lower revolutionary court; this overturned the decision of the Supreme Court and added new charges, including "propaganda against the state" and "corruption on Earth."[4] On 24 April 2024, he was sentenced to death by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Isfahan for "waging war against God" and "corruption on Earth," one of the most serious charges in Iran.[34][35][36][37] He was given 20 days to appeal the ruling.[36]

The death penalty in Iran is usually carried out by hanging, with very little prior notice. In an interview with Shargh on 24 April 2024, one of Salehi's lawyers, Amir Raesian, argued that this death sentence did not comply with the overturning of his original sentence by the Supreme Court.[4] There have been fears that his health may be deteriorating.[4]

Raesian stated on 22 June 2024 that the Supreme Court had overturned the death sentence and ordered a retrial, in addition to ruling that his previous sentence was also in violation of rules regarding sentencing for a multiplicity of crimes.[38]

Support

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Salehi has the support of many young Iranians, some of whom have staged street protests, as well as the Iranian diaspora. On social media, they have used the hashtag #FreeToomajSalehi.[4] His friend and musical collaborator, a rapper who goes by the name of Afrasiab, released a video in Iran, saying "Enforcing this sentence is the biggest mistake of the century... Toomaj is not just one person. He's a nation that won’t be chained down". Salehi has been hailed as a national hero, even being mentioned by pensioners' protest in southwestern Khuzestan province.[5]

The United Nations has called for his release, and a petition launched by the Index on Censorship calling for his immediate and unconditional release has since been signed by over 100 artists, writers, and musicians including Margaret Atwood, Sting, and Coldplay.[4]

Amnesty International has also been running a campaign to save Salehi.[4]

His uncle, who lives in Germany, has been calling on European and world leaders to intervene and boycott Iran, both economically and diplomatically.[4]

Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran in New York, says that Salehi's case "underscores the glaring unlawfulness and injustice of the Islamic Republic's judicial system. Not only was Toomaj imprisoned for participating in a peaceful protest, but now a lower court, acting as a wilful instrument of the state's security apparatus, has unlawfully sentenced him to death".[4]

Awards

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In 2023, while in prison, Salehi was awarded the Freedom of Expression Art Award by the Index on Censorship for his "unwavering commitment to using his craft as a weapon against injustice". The rapper donated his cash prize to victims of recent floods in Iran.[4]

In 2024, while in prison, he received the 2024 Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent.[39]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Iranian dissident rapper reportedly remains defiant under torture by regime". CBC News. 3 December 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  2. ^ Moses, Claire (24 June 2024). "Dissident Rapper's Death Sentence Overturned in Iran, His Lawyer Says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Iran : le rappeur Toomaj Salehi, la liberté ou la vie". Le Figaro (in French). 3 May 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Khadem, Nassim (17 May 2024). "Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi was jailed after he called out the Islamic Republic. Now he's facing the death penalty". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 21 May 2024. 33-year-old Salehi
  5. ^ a b c Tabrizy, Nilo (2 May 2024). "Rapper Toomaj Salehi became an icon in Iran. It could cost him his life". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Toomaj Salehi: Dissident Iranian rapper could face death penalty". BBC News. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Toomaj Salehi: W hy dem fit give di Iranian rapper death penalty". BBC News Pidgin. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Iran: Jailed rapper Toomaj Salehi could face death penalty – DW – 03/28/2023". dw.com. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Family fears for life of rapper 'violently arrested' after encouraging Iranians to protest". CNN. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  10. ^ ""Who is Tomaj Salehi and why did he become?"". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). 7 December 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  11. ^ Esfandiari, Golnaz (22 September 2021). "'We Are The Dead Who Can't Think Of Dying': Iranian Rapper Charged For Criticizing Regime". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  12. ^ HRM, Iran (25 January 2022). "Dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi sentenced to prison and fine". Iran HRM. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  13. ^ Dagres, Holly (12 October 2021). "Down the 'Rathole': How a rapper channels Iran regime change discourse". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Iran: Rapper wegen kritischer Lieder von Mullah-Regime festgenommen - Politik". bild.de (in German). 17 September 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Iran sentences rapper Toomaj to prison over protests". Aljazeera.
  16. ^ "Iran Rearrests Popular Protest Rapper Salehi". IranWire. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Meet Iran's dissident rapper helping youth circumvent regime internet crackdown - CBC News". CBC. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Islamic Republic's Security Forces Arrest Dissident Rapper". Iran International. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Who is Toomaj Salehi, the Iranian rapper who faces the death penalty?". euronews. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Iran protesters defy "brutal crackdown" as another teen is reportedly killed". www.cbsnews.com. 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  21. ^ Moshtaghian, Artemis (6 November 2022). "Family fears for life of rapper they say was violently arrested after encouraging Iranians to protest". CNN. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  22. ^ "Rapper who protested over death of Mahsa Amini faces execution in Iran". the Guardian. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  23. ^ "Iran to hold public trials of 1,000 people charged with involvement in Mahsa Amini protests". CNN. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  24. ^ "موزیک ویدیو "فال" از توماج". YouTube. Toomaj.
  25. ^ "Iranian rapper arrested over supporting protests risks death penalty". France 24. 27 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  26. ^ "Family fears Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj to be charged with crime punishable by death". CBC. November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  27. ^ "German MP Ye-One Rhie on political sponsorship of Iranian prisoners". Global News. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023.
  28. ^ "نعمت احمدی، حقوقدان: اقدام تسنیم برای انتشار خبر کذب پرونده توماج صالحی غیرقانونی بود/ تسنیم چگونه مرجعی است که پیش از وکیل و خود متهم، به اسناد محرمانه پرونده دسترسی دارد؟". دیدبان ایران (in Persian). 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  29. ^ "توماج صالحی پس از شکایت از مقامات و "رسانه‌های خاص" با محدودیت‌های جدید روبرو شده است". www.radiofarda.com. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  30. ^ "وکیل توماج صالحی بازداشت مجدد این خواننده معترض را "خلاف قانون" دانست". www.radiofarda.com. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  31. ^ "وکیل توماج صالحی اتهام "نشر اکاذیب" علیه موکلش را رد کرد؛ خبرگزاری امنیتی: توماج، جمعه تحویل زندان اصفهان می‌شود". ir.voanews.com. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  32. ^ "توماج صالحی: در زمان شکنجه به من "آدرنالین" تزریق کردند تا بیهوش نشوم و درد را تحمل کنم". www.radiofarda.com. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  33. ^ "توماج صالحی از چه کسانی شکایت کرده است؟". اعتمادآنلاین (in Persian). 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  34. ^ Moshtaghian, Artemis (25 April 2024). "Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi sentenced to death for protesting". CNN. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  35. ^ Malekian, Somayeh. "Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi sentenced to death for songs critical of regime". ABC News. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  36. ^ a b "Iran sentences rapper Toomaj Salehi to death over 2022-23 unrest, lawyer tells paper". Reuters.
  37. ^ "Popular rapper Toomaj Salehi wrote songs in support of the protest movement in Iran following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in 2022. He has been in jail for over a year". DW News. 24 April 2024.
  38. ^ "Iran's supreme court overturns rapper Toomaj Salehi's death sentence". France 24. 22 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  39. ^ "Havel Prize Awarded to Dissident Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi". Iran International. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
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