The Recording Academy, Meek Mill, and many other artists condemned Salehi's ruling.
Iranian rapper Toumaji Salehi has been sentenced to death by Iran's Revolutionary Court for a song criticizing the Iranian government, according to his lawyer and state media.
Salehi's lawyer, Amir Resian, tweeted on Wednesday: “The execution order for Toumaji Salehi has been issued.”
Salehi, 33, has been arrested multiple times by Iranian forces for criticizing the regime's corruption and crackdown on protests in the wake of the death of Zina “Martha” Amini. A 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman died while in the custody of the morality police on suspicion of wearing a loose headscarf.
recording academy issued a statement Condemning Salehi's ruling on Friday night, it said: “The Recording Academy is deeply troubled by the recent news regarding Toumaji Salehi. You don't have to worry about your livelihood. Music is a powerful force for good in the world, and it's needed more today than ever. We use our talents to shine a light on the current state of humanity all over the world. We will continue to support music creators and work tirelessly to protect artistic freedom.”
Meek Mill was also among the artists who criticized Salehi's arrest and sentencing. X/Writing on Twitteron Thursday, “Sentenced to death for the song that set that man free.'' followed by “Free Toumaji!”
“We strongly condemn the death sentence of Toumaji Salehi and the five-year prison sentence for Kurdish-Iranian rapper Saman Yassin. We call for their immediate release,” said the US Special Envoy to Iran. The office announced. I have written on Thursday. “These are the latest examples of the Iranian regime's brutal abuses against its own people, its disregard for human rights, and its fear of the democratic change the Iranian people seek.”
Salehi was initially sentenced to six years in prison for participating in protests over Amini's death, but was released after Iran's Supreme Court ruled that the original text was flawed. According to a statement released by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the rapper was arrested in October 2022 and then re-arrested in November after revealing in a video that he was tortured and kept in solitary confinement for 252 days. It was done.
Nazanin Boniadi, Arian Moayed and Maz Jobrani are among the Iranian actors who have called for Salehi's release since last year.
“Mr. Tumasi was arrested for peacefully exercising his human rights, including the right to freedom of expression,” Boniadi said. shared on video Last year, it complained to Amnesty International about Salehi's arrest.
“Toumaji's only crime was expressing his support and expressing his artistic voice. As a comedian, I can't imagine a world where an artist would go to jail for expressing his voice,” Jobrani said in the video. added.
