Islamic Republic Piles Vindictive New Charges on Rapper Toomaj Salehi
On July 19, rapper Toomaj Salehi should have been released on bail from prison in Isfahan, Iran, after Iran’s Supreme Court, responding to a massive campaign inside and outside Iran, had overturned his death sentence in late June and returned the case to a lower court. But now, his official social media (run by administrators on his behalf) announced that the Isfahan judiciary had fabricated four new charges to prevent his release.
On July 19, rapper Toomaj Salehi should have been released on bail from prison in Isfahan, Iran, after Iran’s Supreme Court, responding to a massive campaign inside and outside Iran, had overturned his death sentence in late June and returned the case to a lower court. But now, his official social media (run by administrators on his behalf) announced that the Isfahan judiciary had fabricated four new charges to prevent his release.
The new case against Toomaj Salehi includes four charges, described in such medieval and theocratic language that a real-world translation is needed:
1. “Insulting the sanctities” [disrespecting the mullah regime]
2. “Inciting violence and murder” [supporting “Woman, Life, Freedom” and other protests]
3. “Propaganda against the regime” [lyrics and social media posts critical of the regime]
4. “Spreading lies to disturb public opinion” [see 2 and 3]
Far from being “crimes”, these describe artistic expressions of opposition to oppression, which have won Toomaj millions of fervent followers, especially among disaffected Iranian youth.
The Isfahan court, in a truly “creative” leap, based these new charges on the release of a music video (Typhus, a diss track subtitled in Farsi only) by friends of Toomaj with rearranged images and lyrics all published prior to Toomaj’s arrest in October 2022. This smacks of punishing Toomaj for the solidarity actions of his supporters, actions which, he has said, have saved his life several times.
The X post notes the absurdity of charging Toomaj for acts that supposedly took place while he “was in prison for more than 20 months, with strict limitations imposed on his phone calls and visits so he has essentially had no opportunity to make decisions, express opinions, or even directly participate in the alleged crime.”
“This is the first time in judicial history that a country's judicial system, after twice failing to attribute baseless charges to an artist, now searches through the lyrics of his rap songs to find examples to use as a pretext to keep him in prison.”
A video on @toomajofficial Instagram posted on July 19 had over 75,000 views/likes in one day. It shows that he has been in prison a total of 618 days on one bogus charge after another, many of those days in solitary confinement under severe torture and/or without any contact with family or lawyers. Currently, his phone calls have been completely cut off since July 8. He is denied needed medical treatment and physical therapy for the results of torture which broke bones in his legs and hands.
As Toomaj has said, “I should not be in prison for even one day”. Many in Iran call him “the son of Iran” but in reality he is the son of all the people of the world who chafe under the chains of oppression and hunger for art that represents the fierce struggle for a better world. This brave and beloved artist must be freed immediately and unconditionally.
Rely on mobilizing the people of the world, not governments
Several bills have been introduced in the U.S. Congress, including a “Toomaj Act” (2024) on June 1, and a “Mahsa Act” (2023), even a “Support for Iranian Political Prisoners Act” (2022). Some high-ranking U.S. officials and figures (e.g., National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Jill Biden) openly mouthed support for the struggle of the people in Iran, such as during the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising (2022-2023). The U.S. and its crime partners (Europe, Israel, etc.) are current chief rivals of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and exploit Iran’s troubles and vice versa. This is why we keep repeating the profound truth in the IEC emergency appeal that
The governments of the U.S. and Iran act from their national interests. And, in this instance, we the people of the U.S. and Iran, along with the people of the world, have OUR shared interests, as part of getting to a better world: to unite to defend the political prisoners of Iran. In the U.S., we have a special responsibility to unite very broadly against this vile repression by the IRI, and to actively oppose any war moves by the U.S. government that would bring even more unbearable suffering to the people of Iran.
In sum, the U.S. imperialists and the IRI theocrats are both bloodthirsty gangsters but the U.S. is the bigger threat to humanity. If you support one or the other of these regimes (and their flunkies and proxies), you are strengthening gangsterism. You strengthen their ability to point to each other as excuses for their crimes. This is wrong and harmful as to the real interests of Toomaj and all of Iran’s heroic political prisoners. It also harms the interests of all those suffering under U.S. imperialism domestically and internationally by promoting illusions.
Instead join with the IEC to actively promote and fight for a grassroots movement based on these demands, endorsed by more than 5,000:
We demand of the Islamic Republic of Iran: FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS NOW! We say to the U.S government: NO THREATS OR WAR MOVES AGAINST IRAN, LIFT U.S. SANCTIONS!