Pressure mounts to release dissident rapper ahead of Pezeshkian's UN speech

Ahead of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's address at the UN on Tuesday, calls for the release of dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi have intensified, driven by growing pressure from his family, legal team, and human rights organizations.

Human rights advocates are using Pezeshkian’s visit to New York as an opportunity to highlight Salehi’s continued imprisonment and Iran’s broader human rights violations.

In a joint statement from his legal team at Doughty Street Chambers, Index on Censorship, and the Human Rights Foundation, they emphasized that Salehi's music and activism have been pivotal to the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement, challenging corruption and exposing human rights abuses by Iranian authorities. The statement also underscored that, in retaliation for his outspoken work, Salehi has faced over three years of judicial harassment, including imprisonment, beatings, and torture.

The "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody in 2022, saw months of nationwide protests. Human rights organizations estimate that at least 551 protesters were killed, including 68 children and 49 women, in the violent crackdown by state security forces. In March, the UN Fact-Finding mission’s report concluded that the suppression of these protests and systemic discrimination against women and girls amounted to severe human rights violations, with many acts constituting "crimes against humanity."

Salehi was first arrested in September 2021 following the release of his track “Mouse Hole,” and was detained again in October 2022 during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising, facing charges including “corruption on earth,” which led to a death sentence in April.

While the death sentence was overturned by Iran's Supreme Court in June, Salehi remains imprisoned, with new charges tied to his music and activism. According to the statement, authorities have denied him adequate medical care, leaving him in severe pain from injuries sustained under torture.

Two urgent appeals have been filed with the UN on Salehi's behalf. In May, his legal team submitted an appeal to two UN Special Rapporteurs, and in July, the Human Rights Foundation lodged an individual complaint with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

In the statement, Salehi’s family and friends also voiced concerns over his continued detention. Negin Niknaam, his friend and social media manager, highlighted that "Toomaj remains unlawfully [detained] in Dastgerd prison despite the absence of an arrest order and is in urgent need of medical care to prevent permanent disability." She called on UN Member States to hold Iran accountable and push for his immediate release.

Salehi's cousin, Arezou Eghbali Babadi, added that "international solidarity has been key in overturning Toomaj’s death sentence" and urged the global community to pressure the Iranian president for his release "before it’s too late."