NEW YORK (July 23, 2024) — Last week, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted an individual complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) in the case of Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi in conjunction with Doughty Street Chambers and Index on Censorship.
The groups requested the UNWGAD declare Salehi’s detention arbitrary under international law and urge Iran to immediately and unconditionally release him. Salehi has been tortured, has gone long periods without contacting his family or his lawyer, and has spent more than 300 days in solitary confinement.
Salehi has faced continuous judicial harassment for his songs advocating for democracy in Iran. The latest series of charges stemmed from a song supporting the protests following Mahsa Amini’s murder at the hands of the morality police in September 2022. Salehi was first arrested in October 2022 and faced eight charges, among them “corruption on earth,” which automatically carries a death sentence. In November 2023, the Supreme Court overturned these charges, only for him to be rearrested 12 days later after posting a video detailing the torture he endured in detention.
“Salehi is serving sentence after sentence with no end in sight. The Iranian regime knows the impact he has on the Iranian people and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep him in detention. The countless charges against Salehi show that they will go to extreme lengths to squash dissent,” HRF Legal and Program Officer Claudia Bennett said. “But enough is enough. Art is a human right, and supporting gender equality is not a crime.”
On April 23, 2024, Branch 1 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death. And on June 22, the Supreme Court once again overturned his death sentence, which HRF welcomed. But just last week, two new cases were opened against Salehi with two new charges for another song, “Typhus,” which was released while he was detained. These new charges are “propaganda against the regime and incitement of the public to murder and violence” and “insulting sacred values, and spreading falsehoods.” These new baseless charges have been sent to different courts in an attempt to continue oppressing and silencing Salehi.
The groups state Salehi’s detention resulted from exercising his fundamental right to freedom of expression. His songs are his voice. The petition also details numerous other violations, such as the denial of a public hearing before an independent and impartial court, the vague and overly broad charges against him, the excess time in pre-trial detention, and the denial of communicating with his lawyer and family.
We urge the international community to keep highlighting Salehi’s case but also raise awareness for the numerous other prisoners of conscience in Iran who are detained for demanding human rights.
Supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies.
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