Iranian rapper’s death sentence: Protests hit Canada, UK, others

Iranians conducted protest rallies on Sunday in favour of the 33-year-old Iranian rapper who was given a death sentence in a number of European countries, including London and Brussels in the UK and Belgium, respectively.

Views Nigeria remembers that Toomaj Salehi received a death sentence for openly endorsing the nationwide demonstrations that were started in response to the killing of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old.

Iran’s morality police detained Amini in October 2022 for disobeying the hijab laws. Amini passed away while in detention, which led to nationwide demonstrations.

Salehi was detained by Iranian officials for endorsing the protests, and on Wednesday, he was found guilty of corruption on Earth and given the death penalty.

A few of the musicians emphasised the extraordinary penalty handed to Salehi for peacefully expressing his opinions by characterising the scenario as “a state of shock and disbelief.”

They named him as a “voice of the voiceless” and a symbol of the aspirations of a generation yearning for a “normal life” in their homeland.

Also, demonstrations took place in Toronto in Canada and some campuses in the United States to condemn Salehi’s death sentence.

Reports also confirmed that people gathered in front of Tehran’s consular buildings and in some cities the main town squares were the venue of demonstrations.

Dozens of political prisoners in Iran’s Ghezel Hesar prison issued a statement condemning the death sentence, calling it “the culmination of gross human rights violations in Iran”.

Salehi has also won the support of major US rappers, as well as human rights groups.

The Iranian press has been closely following the campus unrest in the US and France, including reports that 900 American students have been detained in April.