Iran rapper Toomaj banned from phone use after death sentence—supporters

Protestors hold portraits of jailed Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi (center) and Mohsen Shekari (bottom right), a protestor who was executed in Iran in December 2022, during a rally in Lyon on Jan. 8, 2023, against the Iranian regime, marking third anniversary of the downing of Ukrainian passenger jet, flight PS752 by Iranian forces shortly after it’s takeoff from Tehran and to pay tribute to Mohammad Moradi (top right), an Iranian student who committed suicide by drowning himself in the Rhone River in December 2022 to draw attention to the situation in Iran. Toomaj, sentenced to death after supporting protests, was deprived of his right to make telephone calls from jail, his social media accounts run by supporters said on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP

PARIS — Iranian authorities have deprived rapper Toomaj Salehi, sentenced to death after supporting protests, of his right to make telephone calls from jail, his social media accounts run by supporters said on Tuesday, April 30.

Salehi, 33, who performs under the name Toomaj, was last week sentenced to death in a verdict seen by activists as retaliation for his music backing nationwide protests that erupted in 2022.

The rapper, a prominent figure for youth in Iran even before his arrest, was convicted on the sharia charge of “corruption on Earth” by a Revolutionary Court.

His lawyers plan to appeal the verdict while he remains jailed in Dastgerd prison outside the central city of Isfahan.

“Toomaj’s phone privileges at Isfahan’s Dastgerd prison were cut off. This means he has zero contact with his family and the outside world,” said the artist’s official account on X, formerly Twitter, which has been run by an administrator since his incarceration.

“Furthermore, in a move meant to inflict maximum psychological pressure on him, all prisoners at Dastgerd have been forbidden from speaking to him, and have been threatened with severe punishment if they do,” it added.

“This is a gross violation of Toomaj’s human rights, and must immediately stop.”

German MP Ye-One Rhie, who is following Toomaj’s case, wrote on X: “To be clear: That’s torture.”

‘Signal of terror’

Protests were held across the world at the weekend in cities including Toronto, Paris and Sydney, urging Iran to spare the rapper’s life and release him.

Meanwhile, a group of dozens of French cultural figures and activists published an open letter in the Le Monde daily urging President Emmanuel Macron to intervene to save his life.

“We ask you, Mr. President, to take a firm stand against the totalitarian policy of the Islamic republic by using by all political and diplomatic means” to ensure the verdict is quashed, said the letter.

Those signing the letter included the Iran-born actor Golshifteh Farahani, comic strip writer Marjane Satrapi, actor Agnes Jaoui and Elisabeth Badinter, the philosopher and widow of the French justice minister who abolished the death penalty in France.

The letter said the persecution of Toomaj “is a signal of terror” sent by the Islamic republic, which it accused of being rooted “in a systematization of violence against its people.”

Toomaj’s rap is a “formidable political tool denouncing the totalitarianism of the regime and its corruption, encouraging the people to come together as one and rise up for freedom,” it added.

Toomaj was arrested while in hiding in October 2022 during the peak of the protest movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old arrested by Iran’s morality police for an alleged breach of strict dress rules for women.

Activists accused Iran of torturing him during his arrest after state media published a video purporting to show the rapper blindfolded, with bruising on his face, apologizing for his support of the protests.

He was released on bail in November 2023 but re-arrested days later, after posting a video accusing authorities of subjecting him to torture while in detention.

Nine men have already been executed in protest-related cases involving killings and other violence against security forces.

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