Iranian rapper’s death sentence sparks protests in Southern California

Demonstrators around the globe, including here in Los Angeles, came out over the weekend to protest the Iranian Revolutionary Court’s death sentence against rapper Toomaj Salehi, according to multiple reports.

The 33-year-old metal shop worker gained prominence for his lyrics criticizing the Islamic Republic after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who died while in custody of police in Iran. She was allegedly arrested for wearing her hijab too loosely.

Amini’s death, which UN investigators say Iran was responsible for, ignited massive protests and a violent, monthslong crackdown by Iranian security forces that killed 500 people and detained more than 20,000, the Associated Press reported.

In one video about the 22-year-old woman, Salehi rapped, “Someone’s crime was dancing with her hair in the wind. In other lyrics, the metal shop worker predicted the downfall of the Islamic Republic, rapping, “Your whole past is dark, the government that took the light out of the eyes…We go from the bottom of the pyramid and knock to the top…Forty-four years of your government, this is the year of failure,” according to the AP.

Salehi, who has been arrested several times, was initially sentenced to six years in prison, but was later released when Iran’s Supreme Court ordered the case back to the lower courts over a flaw in the sentencing.

While out on bail, he was arrested again in November for reportedly saying he had been tortured after his October 2022 arrest.

In a post to X, formerly Twitter, earlier this week, the rapper’s lawyer, Amier Raesian, said “the first branch of Isfahan Revolutionary Court issued a death sentence” for his client and that they would appeal the decision.

Several high-profile advocates and organizations, including the U.S. Government, have spoken out against Iran on behalf of Salehi and others.

“We strongly condemn Toomaj Salehi’s death sentence and the five-year sentence for Kurdish-Iranian rapper Sama Yasin,” the United States Office of the Special Envoy for Iran said in a post to X. “These are the latest examples of the regime’s brutal abuse of its own citizens, disregard for human rights, and fear of the democratic change the Iranian people seek.”

At the UN, a panel of independent Iran experts said, “Art must be allowed to criticize, to provoke, to push the boundaries in any society.”

On Friday, the Recording Academy also released a statement that reads in part:

“The Recording Academy is deeply troubled by the recent news regarding Toomaj Salehi. No artist anywhere should have to fear for their life or livelihood when expressing themselves through their art.”

Dozens of demonstrators in L.A. gathered in front of the Federal Building Sunday afternoon to raise awareness of Salehi’s case and to call for his release.

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