Sir, – It is over 60 days since the popular protests in Iran against the Islamic republic started. The crowds are massively protesting in the streets all over the country, asking for freedom, justice, democracy, and, above all, a regime change. Over 30,000 protesters have been arrested and the death toll has risen to 515, most of them young people.
In September 2020, a few days before his execution, the activist and athlete Navid Afkari noted: “They don’t want to listen to us. I realised they are looking for a neck for their rope.”
Arrested protesters are often forced to make false confessions under torture while authorities justify the death of protesters with lies.
Moreover, out of the 290 members of the Iranian parliament, 227 have recently called on the judiciary to issue death sentences for people arrested during the anti-government protests.
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This would cause the mass execution of thousands of people; something which has happened before, when 1,500 protesters were murdered by the regime in 2019.
Toomaj Salehi, a dissident rapper from Shahin Shahr, known by his first name, is one of the numerous protesters who were arrested.
Through his lyrics, he openly denounces the absence of political and civil liberties, corruption, gender apartheid, and social inequalities.
Since the beginning of the 2022 protest movement, Toomaj was not only present on the streets but he was also very active on social media, sharing information about the organised rallies and demonstrations.
He invited his followers to join the movement by taking to the streets, and encouraged them through posts and songs.
On October 30th, Toomaj was abducted and arrested with two of his friends before being reportedly charged with “leading violent riots” and “propagandistic activity against the government, cooperation with hostile governments and forming illegal groups with the intention of creating insecurity in the country”.
At this very moment, Toomaj Salehi is subject to torture and the state of his health is unknown. According to his family, he is probably in the prison of Dastgerd, near the city of Isfahan.
Despite numerous requests, his family has not been able to contact him. On November 5th, protests have taken place around the world to be the voice of Toomaj Salehi and denounce the Islamic Republic’s violations of human rights. Media coverage and the rise of protest voices within Iran and abroad play a crucial role in the activist’s future.
Unfortunately, the story of Toomaj Salehi is just one among thousands of false arrests, accusations, and convictions. As the situation in Iran escalates, the regime of the Islamic republic continues its bloody repression and its violation of human rights and free speech. – Yours, etc,
MOUNA MULDER,
Grury,
France.