Doughty Street Chambers, Index on Censorship and Human Rights Foundation jointly submitted a complaint to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) regarding the ongoing detention and mistreatment of Iranian rapper, Toomaj Salehi. The complaint was submitted on behalf of Mr Salehi’s family.

The complaint raises the Iranian government’s failure to comply with its international legal obligations in its treatment of Mr Salehi. Mr Salehi was first detained for his art in October 2022, and has since been repeatedly arrested on overlapping and shifting charges. During his time in custody, Mr Salehi has endured: physical torture that left him with a broken arm and leg and a fractured rib, amongst other injuries; nearly 300 days’ incommunicado detention without access to his family or legal representatives; significant delays in charges being communicated to Mr Salehi; significant restrictions on his lawyers’ access to documentation related to his charges; and failure to comply with basic due process requirements in his repeated arrests. Mr Salehi was briefly released on bail in November 2023, but was rearrested only days later and prevented from accessing medical treatment for injuries suffered in prison.

Mr Salehi’s treatment amounts to judicial harassment. In April 2024, he was sentenced to death for alleged crimes including “corruption on earth,” which arose from him using his music and his voice to support Iranian women following the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of Iran’s morality police. Mr Salehi’s death sentence was overturned by Iran’s Supreme Court on 22 June 2024, on the grounds that it was contrary to Iranian law and excessive.

However, Mr Salehi remains in custody. His case is now before Branch 5 of the Revolutionary Court in Isfahan, with the guidance that the court cannot reassert the death sentence or impose a sentence longer than six years’ imprisonment. Since his case was returned to that Court, Iranian authorities have announced that two new cases had been filed against him: (i) propaganda against the regime and incitement of the public to murder and violence, which has been referred to the Revolutionary Court, and (ii) insulting sacred values and spreading falsehoods, which has been sent to the Criminal Court nr. II. Both cases appear to arise from Mr Salehi’s rap songs and his calls for greater freedoms for Iranian people.

Iran frequently uses arbitrary detention, torture, and executions to silence dissent. We stand by what we said on 22 June 2024: any further period of imprisonment would be a grave injustice. Mr Salehi has done nothing other than to call for his, and other Iranians’, fundamental rights to be respected. He must be free to continue using his voice, and to seek the medical care he needs following his imprisonment.

Mr Salehi’s cousin, Arezou Eghbali Babadi said:

Despite the overturning of Toomaj’s death sentence, authorities aim to keep him imprisoned long-term. They often use cruel tactics, such as re-accusing prisoners of baseless charges to break them mentally and instil fear in others seeking freedom. These actions are part of an ongoing strategy of targeting the innocent lives of all Iranians fighting for democracy and justice. All accusations against Toomaj are baseless, and he must be freed immediately.

Toomaj’s friend and manager of his social media accounts, Negin Niknaam said:

Fabricating cases and making baseless charges against Toomaj Salehi, even though he has been imprisoned for over 20 months, has only one meaning: Since the Islamic Republic was unable to execute him following global outrage, it is now attempting to keep him in prison or pressuring him into silence. This is not an individual act of suppression, but systematic suppression aimed at silencing and isolating dissidents. With each passing day, Toomaj’s life is being destroyed behind bars. The Iranian regime must be held accountable for the violence it commits against dissidents. They must put an end to this psychological torture inflicted on Toomaj and his loved ones. He must be freed.

Jemimah Steinfeld, CEO of Index on Censorship, said:

The ongoing persecution of Toomaj Salehi is a stain on Iran. These new charges and the ill treatment he has received are an affront to basic human rights. Iran now has a new president, a man who has been positioned as a “moderate”. We implore him to free Toomaj Salehi and indeed all others wrongfully imprisoned for exercising their free speech rights. In the meantime, our thoughts are with him and his family – they have been through enough and we can only hope this extremely traumatic period will come to an end soon.  

Claudia Bennett, a legal and programs officer, Human Rights Foundation said:

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. But enough is enough. Art is a human right, and supporting gender equality is not a crime.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, international counsel for Mr Salehi’s family, Index on Censorship, and the Human Rights Foundation said:

Toomaj Salehi is a brave and brilliant artist, who uses his words and his music to stand up to the Iranian authorities’ abuses. The years of torture, imprisonment, and judicial harassment that he has endured have been the result of peaceful actions that have brought hope and inspiration to people in Iran and around the world – and him exercising his right to freedom of expression. 

 When the death sentence was overturned the international community celebrated. But now it is vital that the international community does not look away whilst the Iranian authorities continue to flagrantly violate Mr Salehi’s rights. The authorities are abusing judicial procedures to attempt to silence him and keep him locked away. Mr Salehi’s continuing detention is arbitrary and unlawful. He should be immediately and unconditionally released. 

              *ENDS*

 NOTES TO EDITORS

• The complaint was submitted to the UNWGAD on Friday 19 July 2024
• This follows an Urgent Appeal that was filed with two United Nations Special Rapporteurs on behalf of the family of Toomaj Salehi, by Doughty Street Chambers and Index on Censorship on 3 May 2024. For more information: https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/news/urgent–appeal–filed–united–nationsiranian–rapper–sentenced–death–his–music

For all media contacts or for more information please contact:

• Index on Censorship: Nik Williams (policy and campaigns officer) on [email protected] or (+44)7955370992
• Human Rights Foundation: Claudia Bennett (a legal and programs officer) on [email protected]
• Doughty Street Chambers: Any press queries for the international legal team should be directed to [email protected] or [email protected].