Death sentence against Iranian rapper overturned despite worldwide criticism

In July last year, the Associated Press and other media reported that Toomaj had been sentenced to just over six years in prison in connection with the protests in the region sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old woman died in 2022 under suspicious circumstances, after which protests were organized under the rallying cry of “Woman, Life, Freedom.” In one of his songs, Toomaj appeared to reference Amini’s death, although without mentioning her by name.

In April of this year, Raesian announced that his client was facing the death penalty. A month later, American lawmakers such as Young Kim, Adam Schiff and others introduced the TOOMAJ Act. The bill, which you can read in full here, calls for the US to impose sanctions on “the judges, prosecutors and investigators” of the Islamic Revolutionary Court.

Other artists have also spoken out about Toomaj’s case, including Coldplay and Sting. The Chris Martin-led band and former The Police frontman were among those who supported an open letter last month calling for Toomaj’s death sentence to be “immediately and unconditionally overturned”.

Toomaj was recently awarded the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent by the Human Rights Foundation.