Political Guardian of Tomaj Salehi Criticizes Opposition to His Temporary Release; Tomaj Will Never Leave Iran

"Yeh Van Ree," a member of the German Parliament who has taken on the political guardianship of Tomaj Salehi, called for his release and the initiation of his medical treatment in a post on "X" on Thursday, April 9. In her statement, she criticized the Iranian judicial authorities' opposition to Tomaj Salehi's temporary release on the grounds of the "possibility of him leaving Iran," stating, "Tomaj loves his country and will never leave it." Yeh Van Ree also highlighted the physical problems faced by this imprisoned rapper and called for the expedited treatment and immediate release of Tomaj Salehi, adding, "These actions by the Iranian regime are against human rights." A Twitter account attributed to Tomaj Salehi reported on April 7 that the prosecutor's office opposed his temporary release, stating that the request from Salehi's defense attorney was rejected based on the existence of the charge of "corruption on earth." According to this account, in addition to the "existence of the corruption on earth charge" in Tomaj Salehi's case, "continuation of activities after previous release" and "preventing escape" were also cited as reasons for opposing his temporary release. Tomaj Salehi was arrested in Aban 1401 (November 2022), released a year later, and then re-arrested a few days after his release in Azar 1402 (December 2023) and transferred to prison in Isfahan. Some reports indicate severe torture and beating of this young artist during his year-long detention in prison and his lack of access to medical care and treatment facilities. Arash Sobhani: Artists like Tomaj Salehi have shown that they stand with the people under any circumstances. Reactions to the death of Faramarz Aslani; "The Voice of Memories" and "The Foot of Protests Against the Oppression and Injustice" of the Islamic Republic. The court hearing for Tomaj Salehi's "new charges" was held; crime: spreading falsehoods and inciting violence. Tomaj Salehi is in prison; "Typhus," the new song by the protesting rapper, has been released. Phone calls with Tomaj Salehi were cut off after he published his message about boycotting the elections.