A Number of U.S. Congress Members Call for Sanctions Against Judges in the Tomaj Salehi Case

Twelve members of the U.S. House of Representatives from both the Republican and Democratic parties on Wednesday, June 6, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to impose sanctions on the judges involved in the case of Tomaj Salehi. In the letter, published by Democratic Representative Brad Sherman on the platform 'X', Tomaj Salehi is described as the voice of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement that swept across Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini. The authors of the letter noted Salehi's arrest and stated that the forced confessions aired from this protesting rapper after the prison sentence was issued by Judge Morteza Barati indicate that he has been tortured, which Salehi himself publicly confirmed. The letter also mentions Judge Mohammad Reza Tavakoli, who was sanctioned after the death penalty was issued for Salehi by the UK and Canada, but the United States has taken no action in this regard. The twelve representatives urged President Biden to sanction Morteza Barati, Mohammad Reza Tavakoli, and any other officials involved in the torture and sentencing of Salehi under the 'Magnitsky Act'. The U.S. enacted this law in 2012 following the death of Sergei Magnitsky during detention in Russia, sanctioning several Russian officials for their involvement in his death and human rights violations. Meanwhile, a group of lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties presented a draft bill called the 'Tomaj Law' on Friday, June 1, aimed at imposing targeted sanctions against judges, prosecutors, and investigators in revolutionary courts. Other goals of the 'Tomaj Law' include targeting repressive officers to reduce abuses within Iran's judicial system, ending sham trials, denying access to lawyers, forced confessions, torture, and all other common human rights violations in the Islamic Republic's judiciary, as well as the immediate release of all political prisoners. The draft bill refers to the systematic and ongoing limitations on the ability of Iranian citizens to enjoy their fundamental freedoms without fear of punishment. Another section of the 'Tomaj Law' refers to the protests following the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in the custody of the morality police and the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement against 'gender apartheid' in Iran under the Islamic Republic's rule. Tomaj Salehi, who has been sentenced to death, has consistently supported protesters and detainees during the nationwide protests in Iran, which began following the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in morality police custody in late September 2022. This week, the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize was awarded to Tomaj Salehi for his 'creative dissent' and 'courage in the fight for human rights'. Following the awarding of this prize to Salehi, the Persian account of the U.S. State Department on 'X' published a congratulatory message, describing the music of this Iranian artist as 'a reflection of the voices of millions silenced inside Iran' and a voice that 'captures the grievances of a generation.' In this message, the U.S. State Department expressed deep concern over 'the risk of execution for Tomaj Salehi and many Iranians... who are daily deprived of fair trials and other basic human rights', emphasizing that 'no one should be punished for art and freedom of expression.'