Prominent Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi was sentenced to death by an Islamic Revolutionary Court on charges of “spreading corruption on earth.

Toomaj was initially violently abducted and detained by authorities in October 2022 after supporting the nationwide anti-government protests triggered by the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini by the “morality” police.

In July 2023, he was sentenced to six years and three months in prison with a two-year ban on his music after avoiding a death sentence due to a Supreme Court ruling.

“Branch One of the Revolutionary Court of Esfahan, in an unprecedented move, did not enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling .... and sentenced Salehi to the harshest punishment,” his lawyer Amir Raisian told Sharq Daily on Wednesday. 

Toomaj is known for using his lyrics to openly and courageously criticize the regime in Iran on issues such as corruption, widespread poverty, state executions, and the killing of protesters.

According to his lawyer Raisian, the Revolutionary Court accused Salehi of “assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots” and considered these charges as examples of “corruption on earth.”

“We will certainly appeal against the sentence. The fact is that the verdict of the court has clear legal conflicts. The contradiction with the ruling of the Supreme Court is considered the most important and, at the same time, the strangest part of this ruling,” Raisian told Sharq Daily. 

Toomaj was released on bail on November 18, 2023, after the Supreme Court found “flaws in the original sentence” and returned the case to a lower court for reexamination and possible retrial. 

Upon his release, he shared a nearly 15-minute-long video on his YouTube channel on November 27, revealing that he refused to admit guilt to arbitrary charges or cooperate with security forces despite facing torture and other ill-treatment.

Three days after publishing the video, he was arrested again by armed plainclothes agents on November 30 for “publishing false information and disturbing public opinion.”

His arrest came less than two weeks after he was released from nearly 13 months in prison, including 252 days in solitary confinement, during which he reportedly endured beatings and torture.

 

Death Penalty Used as a Political Tool 

Under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code of 2013, the death penalty can apply to a wide range of offenses in violation of international human rights law.

The most common vaguely defined criminal charges that are often used against dissidents or protesters are “waging war against God,” “corruption on earth,” or “armed rebellion.” These charges carry the death penalty and are handled by Islamic Revolutionary Courts, presided by judges who are some of the most notorious rights violators. 

Revolutionary Courts are special courts established following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran to deal with “political and security affairs.” They have jurisdiction over a wide range of acts, including attempts to overthrow the government. 

“These courts lack independence, operate under the influence of security and intelligence bodies, and routinely use torture-tainted forced “confessions” in grossly unfair summary trials to issue convictions,” according to Amnesty International. 

Iran hanged at least 853 people in 2023, the second-highest number of executions in two decades, with Revolutionary Courts issuing 520 (61%) of the death sentences.