On Thursday, May 17, Amnesty International sent a letter to the head of the Iranian regime’s judiciary, calling for the overturning of Toomaj Salehi’s death sentence.
Amnesty International emphasized that this Iranian rapper was sentenced to death solely for participating in the 2022 nationwide protests and posting critical content on social media against Iranian regime officials. The organization asserts that the trial of this dissident singer was highly “unfair.”
The letter warns that Salehi was “tortured during arrest, including through repeated beatings, resulting in fractures in his hands and leg, and loss of consciousness for two days.”
Amnesty International, citing multiple human rights violations against this political prisoner, has asked the head of the Iranian judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, to unconditionally release Toomaj Salehi and to effectively and impartially investigate the allegations of torture against him.
The human rights organization concludes the letter by calling for independent observers to be granted access to the judicial processes in cases where the death penalty is issued.
Amir Raeesian, Toomaj Salehi’s lawyer, announced on Thursday that an appeal against his client’s death sentence has been registered with the Supreme Court.
Following the news of the appeal by Toomaj Salehi’s lawyer, Ye-One Rhie, a German parliament member and Toomaj Salehi’s political sponsor, called the increasing pressures on him “outrageous” on her X account.
Rhie pointed out that Toomaj is not allowed to contact his lawyer, his phone calls have been cut off, and his visits with family are conditional on being filmed. She emphasized that “They try to frame him and make him appear weak.”
The announcement of the death sentence for this dissident singer by the Revolutionary Court has sparked a widespread global wave of protests, which continues to this day.
