MDear President of the Republic, on April 24, the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced the death sentence of Toomaj Salehi, protest rapper and activist of the Women, Life, Freedom movement.
“True death is resigning oneself to despair », tells us Toomaj Salehi in his texts. Also, we ask France to react and make its voice heard. The Woman, Life, Freedom movement born after the death of the young Mahsa Jina Amini, you know it, Mr. President, because you supported it, notably on November 12, 2022, by welcoming four Iranian rights activists to the Elysée humans: Masih Alinejad, Ladan Boroumand, Shima Babaei and Roya Pirayi.
The same day, during the interview given to France Inter, you expressed your admiration, your respect and your support for the fight of Iranians, because this fight is that of the values of our motto, that of a universalism of freedom in which we believe in France.
The response of the Islamic Republic to this pacifist and universal movement was cruel and limitless repression. The NGO Iran Human Rights has listed 537 demonstrators killed and many others arbitrarily imprisoned and tortured. One of the Iranian regime’s weapons to silence dissidents is the death penalty.
According to the report by the association Together Against the Death Penalty, at least 834 people were executed in Iran in 2023, marking an increase in the death penalty of 43% in one year, the highest rate since 2015.
Rap, a political tool
Toomaj Salehi, a popular artist in Iran, is one of the notable figures in Woman, Life, Freedom. This rap singer took the risk of demonstrating, but above all was a catalyst for the ideals of this Iranian population eager for freedom and democracy.
Rap, which Toomaj manipulates with ardor, has proven to be a formidable political tool denouncing the totalitarianism of the regime and its corruption, encouraging the people to become one and rise up for freedom.
For his positions, Toomaj Salehi was arrested on October 30, 2022 and severely tortured from the first days of his detention before being placed in solitary confinement for several months. Released on bail on November 19, 2023, he immediately published a video to denounce the physical and psychological torture of which he was a victim. With incredible courage, he accused the corruption of justice, which sentenced him to six years and three months in prison for “corruption on earth”.
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