Famous for his committed songs critical of the Iranian government, rapper Toomaj Salehi has been imprisoned since October 31 in Iran, where he faces the death penalty for "corruption on earth" and "collaboration with foreign governments".

An arrest that came in the context of an uprising of the Iranian population, a little more than a month after the death, on September 16, 2022, of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested by the Iranian morality police for a poorly worn veil.

"He has been in solitary confinement for 152 days and has been subjected to torture," his cousin Shabnam Khosravi told France 24. Arriving in France in the 80s, this Franco-Iranian says that Toomaj has multiple fractures that require medical attention. A complaint was filed by his lawyer Dylan Slama at the UN Human Rights Council.

A complaint to "save the life of this young man" and also revive the international mobilization, comments the lawyer on France 24. "We can act from the outside," says Slama, "at some point, the Iranian regime can no longer afford to remain deaf and blind to what is happening."

After his arrest, the regime circulated a video in which the Iranian rapper publicly apologized. "We have every reason to believe that these may be extorted confessions," says his lawyer.

"Toomaj's release would mean freedom of speech in Iran"

"Toomaj is the only Iranian rapper who talks about the working classes and the underprivileged. His lyrics are political and very beautiful. He is a poet whose words do not call for violence but they call for awakening," said the famous author of "Persepolis", Marjane Satrapi, who campaigns for the release of the artist. "He has become a symbol for an entire country. The release of Toomaj would mean the liberation of speech in Iran," she said on France 24.

For the illustrator, who lives in France, the international mobilization against the authorities' repression of protesters has not been without effect on the recent arrests in Iran. "Only four people were executed [by the regime] because the international community woke up: in the French Senate, in the German Parliament... If that hadn't been the case, we would have had thousands of executions."

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