Still, after a month's isolation, dissident rapper and activist Toomaj Salehi is being denied family visits or representation by his family lawyer, so information on his case remains sparse. It has been confirmed that charges of spreading "corruption on earth" (!) have been filed, with no court proceedings yet.

Amir Raisian, a human rights lawyer selected by Toomaj Salehi’s family to defend the rapper, tweeted on November 28:

“Today, I went to the first branch of the Isfahan court to declare my representation in the case of my client, Toomaj Salehi, and registered the declaration of representation bill, but the head of the branch did not allow me to study and follow on up the case, contrary to the law. I reported to the Chief Justice of Isfahan province, and I hope this illegal procedure will be changed.”

Iranwire reported:

“Iqbal Iqbali, Toomaj Salehi's uncle, told Iranwire that Toomaj's family has not been able to meet with Toomaj for the past month, and they do not know about his situation or even his health status following the torture he has suffered during his detention.

“Mr. Iqbali also announced that the relatives of this rap singer are very worried about their son’s condition, and the news of charges against him 'Corruption on earth' has been recently confirmed.

“On Saturday, November 26th, the Chief Justice of Isfahan [Asadollah Jafari] said that Toomaj Salehi, the protesting rap singer, is accused of corruption on earth.

"Jafari said that other accusations against Toomaj are as listed 'propaganda activity against the regime', 'formation and administration of illegal groups with the intention of disrupting the security of the country', 'collaborating with the government of a hostile state' and 'spreading lies and disturbing the public mind through social media' and 'inciting and encouraging people to commit violent acts'."

Whenever dissidents criticize or organize peacefully in Iran, they face spurious accusations of "collaborating" with US or Israeli espionage forces, even without the slightest evidence. All the other so-called accusations are simply fascist code words for supporting, organizing or informing about protests.

Share these Toomaj videos

In a campaign to bring Toomaj's brilliant lyrics and rhymes to an English-speaking audience, IEC volunteers put together an initial YouTube playlist of Toomaj's videos with English subtitles.

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A video from the Toomaj International Page shows efforts in Amsterdam to spread the word broadly -- something we can all do! See our Resources page for palm card to print and post.