JERUSALEM (AP) — A rapper in Iran who came to fame over his lyrics about the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini and criticizing the Islamic Republic has been sentenced to death, his lawyer and rights activists said Thursday.
Confusion still surrounds the death sentence issued against 33-year-old metal shop worker Toomaj Salehi, as even Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency and its judiciary did not formally confirm it. But the news quickly drew international criticism from the United States and United Nations experts, who pointed at it as a sign of Tehran’s continuing crackdown against all dissent following years of mass protests in the country.
“Art must be allowed to criticize, to provoke, to push the boundaries in any society,” a panel of the U.N.'s independent experts on Iran said in a statement Thursday.
Word first spread Wednesday after a report by Iran’s pro-reform Shargh newspaper said Salehi had been given a death sentence by a Revolutionary Court in Isfahan, a central Iranian city recently targeted by an apparent Israeli attack. Revolutionary Courts in Iran often involve closed-door hearings, secret evidence and few rights for those on trial.
Judge delays murder trial for Indiana man charged in 2017 slayings of 2 teenage girls
Toronto's Nylander out for Game 1 against Bruins
The most incredible diets in sport: Erling Haaland 6,000
First baseman Nathaniel Lowe back with Rangers after missing first 20 games with oblique strain
Emily Ratajkowski leaves NOTHING to the imagination as she goes underwear
Rapids use pair of own goals to beat Dallas 2
U.S. votes against Palestinian request for full UN membership at Security Council
New York lawmakers pass $237 billion budget addressing housing construction and migrants
Vladimir Putin is sworn in for his fifth term as president at glittering ceremony in front of hand
De La Cruz homers in the 9th inning as the Marlins beat the Cubs 3
CFL's Chad Kelly suspended at least 9 games after investigation into ex
Angels' Anthony Rendon leaves game against Reds with a hamstring injury