Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi Sentenced to Death for Protest Music: What Does This Mean for Freedom of Expression?
Free Toomaj Salehi, Joe Flood, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
“Art must be allowed to criticize, to provoke, to push the boundaries in any society.” This was the statement declared by a panel of the U.N.’s experts on Iran in response to the death sentence placed upon Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi. On April 24, Branch 1 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court, led by Mohammad Reza Tavakoli, charged Salehi with “waging war against God” and “corruption on earth”, crimes punishable by death. Targeted for creating art that spoke out against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which the court referred to as “propaganda against the state”, he was also banned from practicing art for 2 years, separate from the execution sentence. His lawyers, Amir Reisian and Mostafa Nili, see the harsh sentence implemented by the lower court as “unusual”. The inclusion of restrictions on Salehi’s ability to create art and travel are also considered unusual.
Salehi has long been a distinct critic of the Iranian government, using his music to amplify his voice. He first made headlines in October 2022 when he was arrested for his activism prompted by the death of Mahsa Amini. Whilst her murder sparked protests across Iran and were squashed by a violent police response resulting in over 500 deaths and 20,000 arrests, Salehi was subject to torture, interrogation, and extensive periods of solitary confinement. Though initially sentenced to death, Salehi was released on bail in November 2023 when Iran’s Supreme Court ruled to reconsider the case.
On November 27, Salehi posted a video to his YouTube channel titled “Toomaj's First Speech after His Release”. In it, he describes the torture he suffered during 252 days of solitary confinement. This video, where Salehi openly criticizes the Iranian government and exposes his torture during his time in prison, led to another arrest for the rapper, this time for “publishing lies and disturbing the public mind.” The April 18 trial also added new charges including “assisting in rebellion”, which reintroduced the death penalty. Salehi’s lawyer, Mr. Reisian, announced his intention to appeal the case on April 24.
Salehi’s impending execution sparked more protests, this time across the globe. Demonstrators in Los Angeles, Toronto, Brussels, Vienna, Berlin, and more are sporting signs reading #freetoomaj, a hashtag with over 50,000 related posts on Instagram. Well-known public figures such as Coldplay, Sting, and Margaret Atwood signed the Index on Censorship’s statement on Salehi, which calls for the rapper’s release and asserts that “No artist should be subject to any kind of judicial harassment for exercising their right to freedom of expression.” Even 8 political prisoners, currently held in Iran’s largest state prison, Ghezel-Hesar, released a letter in support of Salehi at the end of April. On May 31, U.S. lawmakers introduced the TOOMAJ Act, which proposes placing sanctions on the court officials responsible for the sentencing of Salehi and other “dissenters.”
PEN America, a non-profit organization with the mission of protecting artists’ right to free expression, connected Salehi’s death sentence to an “escalation in persecution and imprisonment” of Iranian artists since January 2024. They condemned the arrest and abuse of cartoonist Atena Farghadani and the arrests of the musicians Vafa Ahmadpour, Saman Yasin, and Shervin Hajipour, all of which took place this spring. Julie Trébault, a director at PEN America, said “Artists like Salehi, who use their creativity to express dissent against draconian and unjust measures by authoritarian regimes, must be safeguarded from such deliberate violence.”
In an interview with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Tara Sepehri Far of the Human Rights Watch called the suppression of Salehi’s speech “outrageous and concerning.” In a post to X, the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran condemns Salehi’s sentence and refers to it as the Islamic Republic of Iran’s attempt to quell the growing fight for “democratic change.” The post references Saman Yasin, another Iranian rapper arrested amid the Women, Life, Freedom protests, whose death sentence was similar to Salehi’s for "waging war against God”, but was overturned by the Supreme Court. Both Yasin and Salehi reported experiencing physical and psychological torture during their detention, resulting in lasting health impacts. Reports of Yasin visiting a psychiatric hospital have renewed the outrage surrounding his arrest.
Saman Yasin’s story parallels Salehi’s, and the overturning of his death sentence gives supporters of Salehi reason to hope. Salehi, however, has already escaped the death penalty once. His lawyer, Mr. Reisian, recently expressed concern about the lower court working independently of the Supreme Court that initially spared Salehi. In “Toomaj's First Speech after His Release”, Salehi describes a particularly revealing conversation. He recounts that “When we would speak about their own laws to them, they would say ‘What are you saying?’, ‘What is the law?’, ‘We can do what we want.’” Salehi concluded that “No one person or organization should be above the law.” His story reveals the increasing desperation of Iranian authorities, especially in lower tiers of the court and government systems, working around the law to repress outspoken voices.
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) referred to the extreme punishment for artistic expression as alarming and called for “judicial reform throughout Iran.” Jackie Northam, NPR's International Affairs Correspondent, questions whether the death of Salehi will encourage or crush pro-reform activism in Iran. A French news agency, however, described Salehi as a symbol of his generation that the regime was tired of tolerating, suggesting his potential for martyrdom. Salehi’s death sentence may have heightened tensions, but the death of Iranian President Raisi in May has catapulted the country into chaos and uncertainty. Raisi, who led the crackdown on the Women, Life, Freedom movement, was set to become Iran’s next Supreme Leader. Now, the state has opened registration for an emergency election planned to be held this June.
In the video posted after his 2023 release, Salehi expresses concern that the Iranian regime was attempting to “assassinate [his] character” in order to retain control over his influence. They reportedly released fabricated and manipulated videos of Salehi admitting to his guilt and apologizing to the authorities. In reference to Salehi’s 2022 arrest, another Iranian rapper and activist, Erfan Paydar, said that Salehi inspires people to think “if [Toomaj Salehi is] willing to go out there and he’s not scared, then maybe we shouldn’t be.” In his 2022 song titled "Fal", meaning "Omen", Salehi rapped “Someone's crime was dancing, her hair in the wind/Someone's crime was that they were brave and outspoken” in response to Amini’s death. The latter part of the lyric now applies to Salehi himself. Thus as Salehi’s legal team fights for his freedom, his supporters can work to do the same by circulating the truth, speaking out against Iran’s repression of the basic right to freedom of speech, and keeping Salehi’s character unblemished.