Toomaj Salehi, the Iranian musician who won worldwide recognition after being sentenced to death for the ‘crime’ of speaking out against the Islamic regime’s misogynistic oppression of women has finally been released from prison after 753 days (Euronews, Guardian, Times).
Earlier this year, Salehi was convicted of “spreading corruption on earth” – a capital offence under Article 286 of the country’s Islamic Penal Code – after he publicly backed the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests, a series of widespread demonstrations that began in September 2022.
The protests were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman, who fell into a coma hours after being arrested by the country’s ‘morality police’ for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women, particularly the mandate to wear the hijab.
Following her arrest, eyewitnesses said that police pushed her into a van and subjected her to torture and other ill-treatment, including through beatings to the head. A United Nations fact-finding mission said in March 2024 that Amini’s death was unlawful and was caused by “physical violence in the custody of state authorities”.
The months-long protest movement sparked by her murder represented one of the most serious challenges to the regime in recent years. As people, universities and even girls’ secondary schools rose up and women took to the streets without head-scarves, the authorities’ crackdown became ever harsher.
By early 2023, human rights organizations reported hundreds of deaths, including children, and thousands of arrests.
Salehi had long been a voice of anti-government dissent in Iran, using his music and social media posts to make political statements criticising the repressive nature of the Iranian regime.
Rap is one of several types of music effectively banned in Iran, a fact that has only added to its popularity.
During the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests, Salehi – who has 2.6 million followers on Instagram – actively encouraged fellow Iranians to demonstrate against the authorities, and shared videos of himself participating with protesters in the streets.
“Someone’s crime was dancing with her hair in the wind, someone’s crime was that he or she was brave and outspoken,” read the lyrics in one of his songs from October 2022, posted shortly before his arrest.
In April 2024, a lower court in Isfahan found him guilty of “spreading corruption on Earth” as well as the lesser offence of “assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the state and calling for riots”, which is punishable by two to five years’ imprisonment.
His case was taken up by Amnesty International, who describe his trial as “grossly unfair”, and note that authorities “dismissed his complaints of torture, including electric shocks, death threats and repeated beatings resulting in bone fractures and vision impairment in one eye”.
Salehi’s death sentence sparked international outcry, with more than 100 high-profile figures from the world of culture and entertainment signing a statement calling for his release.
After the verdict was announced, U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel condemned the Iranian regime’s use of the death sentence as a “tool to suppress people’s human rights and fundamental freedoms”, with the Biden-Harris administration subsequently imposing financial sanctions against 12 high-ranking Iranian officials, one of whom administers the province where Salehi was tortured while in prison.
Following this international pressure, in June 2024 Iran’s Supreme Court overturned Salehi’s death sentence.
The exact political considerations behind the move have never been made public, although with the country’s economy continuing to falter, food prices escalating, and hardline president Ebrahim Raisi having died a month beforehand in a helicopter crash, the regime is rumoured to have been split over continuing to target high-profile protesters.
Despite Salehi’s death sentence being overturned, he remained in custody on a series of overlapping and shifting charges.
He was eventually released from prison on 1st December, according to the state-run Mizan news agency.
In a joint statement, Salehi’s cousin Arezou Eghbali Babadi and friend Negin Niknaam, said: “The international community’s solidarity and support have played a crucial role in the release of Toomaj Salehi. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all who contributed in any way to this outcome.”
The statement added: “However, we must not lose sight of the unlawful and oppressive rules that continue to exert severe psychological pressure on freedom seekers, their families, and society as a whole in Iran.”
“While we urge for Toomaj’s unconditional freedom and look forward to seeing him as soon as possible, we cannot forget the injustices we faced during this period.”
Caoilfhionn Gallagher, international counsel for Mr Salehi’s family, Index on Censorship, and Human Rights Foundation, celebrated his release but also credited it to sustained pressure put on the Iranian authorities from both inside and outside the country.
“This is also a time for vigilance,” she cautioned. “The world must not look away now: We must ensure Mr Salehi remains free and is never again subjected to the egregious violations of his rights.”
Salehi’s sponsor in Europe, German member of parliament Ye-One Rhie concurred, posting on X: “We should remain cautious and keep both eyes on his freedom and safety. Especially with how sudden his release happened tonight.”
