Iranian Rapper Faces Death Sentence for Criticizing Regime in Lyrics

One wonders if left-wing, uber-progressive college students protesting an “oppressive” regime half a planet away would last a day under the true tyranny of an Islamic regime.

Among groups like Hamas, in countries like Iran, much of what these radical leftist activists have supported just as wholeheartedly as protesting against Israel would get them killed almost instantly.

From a woman improperly wearing a hijab, to engaging in the merest hint of homosexuality, to adultery, to apostasy — any such offenses that have been tolerated, if not encouraged, in the U.S. would garner almost certain death in Iran.

And that, as one Iranian rapper has found to his sorrow, would include speaking critically of the Iranian government.

As reported by Reuters, 33-year-old Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi has been sentenced to death for what the government called “corruption on earth.”

While the wording of such an offense, especially an offense meriting the death penalty, was suspiciously vague, the Iranian government seemed to have little doubt in passing down the sentence.

They decided Salehi’s rap songs speaking out for 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, as well as his lyrics against the oppressive government as a whole, were more than enough to merit that sentence.

Amini, who died in police custody in 2022 after being arrested for “improperly” wearing a hijab, was one of many mistreated and killed by the Iranian government, according to ABC News.

Salehi himself had been arrested several times since 2021, according to ABC News, for lyrics in his songs, which denounce the government, the oppressive Islamic Republic, and the apologists who attempted to whitewash that government’s human rights violations.

Some of those lyrics included references to Amini in particular, Salehi saying that “Someone’s crime was dancing with her hair in the wind.”

Others, however, predicted the downfall of the Iranian government, Salehi warning them, “Your whole past is dark, the government that took the light out of the eyes. … We go from the bottom of the pyramid and knock to the top. … Forty-four years of your government, this is the year of failure.”

Consequently, according to Salehi’s lawyer Amir Raesian, “The primary court sentenced Toomaj Salehi to the harshest punishment, death, on the charge of ‘corruption on Earth.” He said they “will definitely appeal this sentence.”

However, despite Iran’s tendency to ruthlessly crush any whisper of dissent, Reuters reported that Salehi’s sentence had ignited widespread protests in favor of the rapper’s release, with the hashtag #FreeToomaj trending on social media.

🚨Rapper Toomaj Salehi Sentenced to Death🚨
❗️Please share this post and others about him! If there is enough outcry, it could save his life. Iran’s clerics hate bad publicity.❗️#FreeToomaj

Please trend these hashtags as well: #FreeIran #FreeToomaj #toomajsalehi… pic.twitter.com/lSN9pgca50

— Quantum Flux (@QuantumFlux36) April 25, 2024

Still, despite how brutal, cruel and outrageous Salehi’s sentencing was, it was only a small taste of the overall brutality of the Islamic regimes in the Middle East.

Remember, just recently Iran had called for the widespread nuking of nations like Israel and the U.S., and possibly tried starting World War III by launching a massive missile strike against Israel on April 13.

Tragic as is the case of Salehi, when considered on a grander scale, the unjust execution of a musician would just be a drop in the bucket for a country like Iran.

The college students protesting in favor of Iranian allies like Hamas might want to think twice about their anti-Israel stance.

Israel has not been blameless in its response toward Hamas, but at least they would never execute a rapper for the crime of saying something negative about the current regime.