Toomaj Salehi Freed: A Victory for Resistance and Solidarity
After seven hundred and fifty-three days in an Iranian prison, the rapper and activist Toomaj Salehi walked free on Sunday. Freemuse welcomes his release. But his journey to freedom has been emblematic of the tension and upheaval that have defined Iran’s political climate since the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who died in the custody of Iran’s morality police in September 2022. Salehi’s arrest, in October of that year, followed his outspoken role in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. His music and activism, criticising systemic oppression and the violence of the state, led to a conviction for “corruption on earth,” and a death sentence handed down in April 2024. Though the Supreme Court overturned the sentence in June, Salehi remained imprisoned, held on a constantly shifting list of allegations that underlined the arbitrary cruelty of the regime. Finally, on 1 December 2024, after serving a one-year term for propaganda against the Islamic Republic, he was released.
Salehi’s detention has been marked by allegations of torture, including electric shocks, beatings that fractured his bones, and solitary confinement that stretched for months. Amnesty International labelled his trial “grossly unfair,” and his struggle drew global solidarity, with more than a hundred cultural and entertainment figures calling for his freedom. In a statement, his cousin, Arezou Eghbali Babadi, and a close friend, Negin Niknaam, expressed profound gratitude for the international outcry that they say helped secure Salehi’s release. But their message also sounded a cautionary note: “We cannot forget the unlawful and oppressive rules that continue to exert severe psychological pressure on freedom seekers and their families.” For now, Salehi’s release is a significant achievement in the fight for freedom, though it serves as a simple reminder of the ongoing risks faced by those who challenge a repressive regime.
Salehi’s detention has been marked by allegations of torture, including electric shocks, beatings that fractured his bones, and solitary confinement that stretched for months. Amnesty International labelled his trial “grossly unfair,” and his struggle drew global solidarity, with more than a hundred cultural and entertainment figures calling for his freedom. In a statement, his cousin, Arezou Eghbali Babadi, and a close friend, Negin Niknaam, expressed profound gratitude for the international outcry that they say helped secure Salehi’s release. But their message also sounded a cautionary note: “We cannot forget the unlawful and oppressive rules that continue to exert severe psychological pressure on freedom seekers and their families.” For now, Salehi’s release is a significant achievement in the fight for freedom, though it serves as a simple reminder of the ongoing risks faced by those who challenge a repressive regime.
