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Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi Sentenced to Death for Songs Critical of Government

Toomaj Salehi, a dissident Iranian rapper, was sentenced to death on charges related to the antigovernment music he released during the 2022 protests.

Salehi was ultimately charged with “spreading corruption on earth,” a death penalty offense, for releasing music critical of the government and urging his followers to join the protests in videos shared on social media. The music that moves mountains, inspires us, jolts us alive, and awakens generations tells the story of real life under the harshest circumstances, in an alluring poetic prose that punches us with a felt truth and bounces perfectly over the beat at the same time. Notably, an American national, Jamshid Sharmahd, who was kidnapped and taken to Iran and has been in solitary confinement for the past 3 years has also been sentenced to death by hanging, with a deadline for May 11th if the U.S. government does not hand over upward of $2 billion for his ransom.

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