Over 100 prominent voices from the music, cultural, and human rights realms have joined forces to call for the immediate release of Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi – a dissident sentenced to death over his support of nationwide anti-regime protests.
Signatories include international artists Coldplay, Sting, Jade Thirlwall of Little Mix, writer Margaret Atwood, and former Iranian-British hostage and campaigner Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
“No artist should be subject to any kind of judicial harassment for exercising their right to freedom of expression, much less be sentenced to death,” their statement said on the Index on Censorship’s website.
Toomaj, known by his first name, has been a long-time critic of the regime in Iran and rose to further prominence when he spoke out in support of the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom protests in Iran.
Over the years, the rapper gained a considerable following through his music and lyrics, which criticized the Iranian state and its human rights violations.
He was one of the first dissidents abducted and detained in the Iranian authorities’ crackdown on the nationwide demonstrations.
“We are living somewhere horrific. You are dealing with a mafia that is prepared to kill an entire nation in order to keep its power, money and weapons,” the rapper told CBC News in an exclusive interview, shortly before his arrest.
Toomaj spent over a year in detention, which included 252 days in solitary confinement.
"As artists, musicians, writers and leading cultural figures we stand in solidarity with Toomaj Salehi. We call for his death sentence to be immediately and unconditionally quashed and for him to be released from detention without delay, with all other charges dismissed. Art must be allowed to criticize, to provoke, to question and to challenge authority. That is both our right and our duty as artists,” the statement by the world renowned figures read.
Following Toomaj’s release on bail in November 2023, the rapper recounted his experiences of torture in a video posted to YouTube. He was quickly re-arrested on charges of "corruption on earth."
Isfahan’s non-independent Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced the rapper to death on April 24.