Published25. April 2024, 5:47 p.m.
Toomaj Salehi: Death sentence of Iranian rapper heavily criticized
For showing his support for the 2022 protest movement in Iran, Toomaj Salehi will be executed. Paris and Rome deplore the decision of the Iranian courts.
IMAGO/aal.photo
The death sentence of Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, imprisoned for his support for the 2022 protest movement in Iran, was denounced Thursday by France, Italy, and experts from a UN working group.
“France strongly condemns this decision, which is in addition to the numerous other death sentences and unjustifiable executions linked to the fall 2022 protests in Iran,” the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
These convictions and the “numerous other serious and unacceptable violations of fundamental rights and freedoms committed by the Iranian authorities cannot serve as a response to the legitimate aspirations for freedom of the Iranian people,” adds French diplomacy.
“Artistic freedom and cultural rights”
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also stressed “strongly condemning” the decision of the Iranian courts.
“The (Italian) government opposes the death penalty in all places and circumstances. We continue to defend freedom and human rights around the world,” he added in a statement on social media.
In Geneva, ten independent United Nations experts denounced this conviction. “As harsh as Mr. Salehi’s songs are against the government, they are a manifestation of artistic freedom and cultural rights,” they said in a statement, signed by five Special Rapporteurs and the five members of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
A trial deemed unfair
They say they are “alarmed by the imposition of the death penalty and the alleged ill-treatment against Mr. Salehi which appears solely linked to the exercise of his right to freedom of artistic expression and creativity” .
Furthermore, they added, “executions following unfair trials constitute an arbitrary deprivation of life.” These experts are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the organization.
Toomaj Salehi, famous 33-year-old rapper, was arrested in October 2022. He had supported, via his songs and on social networks, the protest movement triggered after the death on September 16, 2022 of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurd detained by the moral police, who accused him of having violated the strict dress code imposed on women. Foreign artists then gave him their support, fearing that he would be sentenced to death.
Already nine executions
Several hundred people, including members of the security forces, were killed and thousands arrested during protests held in October and November 2022 in Iran, before ebbing.
Nine people were executed in connection with this uprising, according to NGOs. Iran practices capital punishment on a large scale. Amnesty International has recorded 853 executions in 2023, an increase of 48% compared to 2022 and 172% compared to 2021.
(afp)