Lawyer says Iran rapper famous for songs after 2022 killing of Mahsa Amini sentenced to death
Time:2024-04-26 03:51:01 Source:entertainmentViews(143)
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.
You may also like
- Abortion fight rages on with moves to repeal Arizona ban and a Supreme Court case
- A Moroccan town protests water management plans
- Maine sues biochemical giant over contamination from PCB
- Big banks warn of uncertain year ahead after mixed financial performances in the first quarter
- Venice launches pilot program to charge entry fee to day
- Eating less meat would be good for the Earth. Small nudges can change behavior
- Universal Pictures teases ‘Wicked’ and announces ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’
- Why don't humans have tails? A genetic mutation offers clues
- Alice Evans admits she 'didn't react well' when her 'life was uprooted' by acrimonious split from ex