Samira Mohyeddin is a journalist, scholar of genocide, and the host and producer of the podcast Gay Girl Gone.
“But if tomorrow I’m killed, don’t shed any tears for me. Your tears won’t bring me back to life.” Those were the words Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi offered to his friends, fans and family, a month before his second imprisonment at the hands of the Iranian regime. Last week, the beloved 33-year-old rapper was sentenced to death by hanging. He is charged with “corrupting the earth.”
If the charge sounds medieval, that’s because it is. It’s a charge reflective of the geriatric men and mindset that rule Iran. It’s also a precarious one, because it’s not really defined as to how one becomes such a thing as a “corruptor of the earth.” Where do you even start to defend yourself against such an accusation?
Life under a totalitarian theocracy in Iran is full of red lines that are being moved around every day, and the latest victim of those red lines is Toomaj Salehi. It is the unwritten laws that bind people in Iran; that deem the strands of a woman’s hair to be an issue of national security; that make it illegal for her to ride a bicycle or swim in the sea; that would impose a death sentence upon an artist for his voice and words.
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Is the Islamic Republic really that fragile? The answer is yes.
Mr. Salehi is not just any rapper. He gives voice to the fight and hopes of his generation – a generation that is shaking the Islamic Republic to its core, and is emblematic of the state’s failed project of raising little Islamist automatons. But he also transcends demographics. Even pensioners in Iran’s southern region of Ahvaz were protesting for him this weekend, chanting, “Toomaj is a nation, free the nation.” From Oslo to Ottawa, protests were held around the world calling for his release. The Recording Academy, which presents the Grammy awards every year, put out a statement saying, ”No artist anywhere should have to fear for their life or livelihood when expressing themselves.” But that’s exactly what Mr. Salehi does with every song he releases. And he knows it.
The young rapper is a man of the people. He’s often barefoot in his videos, as he rockets off his biting rhymes. His target is as much the clerical state as the inaction he sees among his fellow citizens. He doesn’t rap about fancy cars or his love life or riding low; he raps about clerical corruption, freedom and unity. His 2.5 million followers on Instagram hang off his every word, and he has a very smart and young media team putting out his messages, even while he is in prison.
Mr. Salehi has never held a performance in any concert hall in Iran. He would never be issued a permit to do so from Iran’s censors at the office of cultural affairs. He only operates in the shadows of social media. Like women artists in Iran, who are not allowed to sing publicly for fear of arousing men, his voice is throttled for his ability to arouse the anger of the people.
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Canada has played a special role in the story of Mr. Salehi. It was Canada’s national public broadcaster that aired his first and only interview with the Western media; when he spoke to the CBC back in October, 2022, Mr. Salehi knew what he was doing was risky; he was arrested 24 hours after that interview aired. But that’s precisely what makes him stand out from every other artist. Mr. Salehi refuses to remain quiet.
And it was Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, who took on the sponsorship of Mr. Salehi during the deadly protests in Iran last year. He also put out a statement last week calling for his immediate release. Mr. Salehi’s cousin, Ava Salehi, is now also living in Toronto. When I asked her how the family is dealing with the sentence, she said they are hopeful that the global outcry will make a difference, and that “only one word can describe the whole story of who Toomaj is and what his music represents and that is freedom.” Mr. Salehi’s lawyer says he will be appealing the sentence.
Many Iran analysts think the sentence will be overturned. As cruel as the regime in Iran is, it is also very calculating. The leaders know if the sentence is carried out, it will be their undoing. As willing as the revolution is to eat its own children, it’s still not ready to sacrifice itself.