Tehran: The family of an Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, detained for supporting protests against compulsory wearing of hijab which resulted in Mahsa Amini’s death said his life is at serious risk after an Iranian court on Saturday handed down a life sentence against him in a trial behind closed doors.
32-year-old Toomaj Salehi Twitter account is now being handled by his family.
On Saturday, family tweeted that “his life is at serious risk right now,” condemning the circumstances of his trial, which took place without a lawyer.
Toomaj Salehi, faced charges of “enmity against God” and “corruption on earth” — both sharia-related charges that are capital crimes in the Islamic republic.
On Sunday, the family took to Twitter and wrote, “After pressure from the public and the pursuit of some media outlets, after 29days of total silence about #ToomajSalehi, the Esfahan Courthouse officially announced charges against him. However, please note the family’s chosen lawyer has not yet been able to see the case details.”
“Rapper #ToomajSalehi is currently being tortured by the Islamic Republic of Iran for exercising his universal basic right to freedom of speech. Let’s mobilize the rap community to stand in solidarity with #ToomajSalehi. Be his voice today. #IranRevolution,” Iranian activist Masih Alinejad tweeted on November 4.
It is is noteworthy that Salehi is a well-known figure in Iran, who was arrested in end of October after denouncing the regime and supporting the protests.
Salehi went missing at the end of October until he appeared in a video recording broadcast by Iranian official media on November 2, AFP reports.
The video shows a blindfolded man who says he is Salehi and admits to making a “mistake”.
On the other hand, activists condemned the rapper’s video, which was published by Iranian state media, and described it as a forced confession.
Just because she let her hair down
Iranian rapper expressed his support for the protesters through a simple song in which he asked, “How can a young woman be condemned and punished just because she let her hair down?”.
The death of Mahsa Amini ignited the flames of anger
Iran has been rocked by sweeping protests since September 16, over the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Iran’s morality police.
Her death has since ignited anger over several issues, including the restrictions imposed on personal freedoms and strict rules regarding women’s clothing, as well as the living and economic crisis that Iranians suffer from, not to mention the strict laws imposed by the regime and its political and religious composition in general.
It is noteworthy that since the beginning of the popular uprising against the regime of the Islamic Republic, dozens of artists, writers and journalists have been arrested in Iran.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) announced that 450 protesters had been killed in the unrest as of Saturday, including 63 minors.
At least 18,174 people, including 566 students, were arrested in those protests that took place in 156 cities and towns and 143 universities.
