Amnesty International Calls for Immediate and Unconditional Release of Tomaj Salehi

On Tuesday, Amnesty International issued a statement on its social media account calling for the immediate release of Tomaj Salehi, an Iranian protest rapper. The human rights organization stated that the Iranian authorities should release Salehi 'immediately and unconditionally' instead of prolonging the legal proceedings against him. Amnesty referred to a report by Salehi's lawyer on Saturday, July 2, which mentioned that the 39th branch of the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic had annulled Salehi's conviction and death sentence for 'corruption on earth,' issued by the Revolutionary Court, and sent the case back for review to the lower court. Amnesty emphasized that Salehi should not have been arbitrarily detained by the Iranian government for peacefully exercising his human rights, let alone subjected to repeated human rights violations. The annulment of Salehi's 'death sentence' by the Supreme Court was welcomed by political and human rights activists, but they also stressed the need for continued international pressure on the Iranian government for Salehi's release. 'Yvan Ri,' a representative of the German Social Democratic Party who has taken political responsibility for Salehi, wrote on X: 'The Supreme Court ruling may relate to next week's elections, but the Islamic Republic knows better that if it wants to appear somewhat committed to the constitution, it cannot change its mind about Salehi's ruling again.' Abram Pily, Deputy Special Representative of the U.S. Department of State for Iran, described the annulment of Salehi's death sentence as 'a pretense of leniency' by the Islamic Republic aimed at 'misleading the world' and criticized the judicial tactics of 'the Iranian regime' to 'silence dissenters.' Tomaj Salehi was actively involved in the nationwide protests in Iran in 2022, which began after the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police in late September of that year, supporting protesters and those who were arrested. Saeed Dehghan stated that the passage of the Tomaj Law in Canada reflects the global community's attention to freedom of expression in Iran. A street concert in support of Tomaj and prisoners at risk of execution took place in The Hague, Netherlands. 'Tomaj is our life'; calls for Salehi's release were made by several citizens in Tehran. Abram Pily stated that the Islamic Republic wants to mislead the world by annulling Salehi's death sentence. Reactions to the annulment of Salehi's 'death sentence' have seen political and human rights figures calling for pressure on the Islamic Republic and Salehi's release. Salehi's lawyer announced the annulment of his death sentence. Some members of the U.S. Congress have called for sanctions against the judges in Salehi's case. The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize for 'creative dissent' and 'courage' was awarded to Tomaj Salehi.