The Václav Havel Foundation Award in New York Presented to Representative of Tomaj Salehi

The 2024 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize was awarded to the representative of Tomaj Salehi, a political prisoner and protest rapper in Iran. This award, named 'Disruption of Peace,' was presented on September 25, 2024, during a ceremony in New York to Ms. Keelin Gallagher, a human rights lawyer and international attorney for Tomaj Salehi, on his behalf. Tomaj Salehi, the Iranian protest artist, was previously announced as one of the three recipients of the Václav Havel International Prize for this year. This annual award is given to artists who pay special attention to human rights in their works and are targeted by governments for this reason. It was previously stated that the Havel Foundation recognized Mr. Salehi as deserving of this award for his 'creative dissent' and 'courage in the fight for human rights.' He is referred to in the Havel Foundation's statement as a 'brave writer in danger.' Tomaj Salehi is also the writer of his protest songs. Václav Havel, the former President of the Czech Republic, was a poet, playwright, dissident, politician, and former president of the Human Rights Foundation. Tomaj Salehi was seriously involved in the widespread protests of 2022, which began with the death of Mahsa Jina Amini in the custody of the morality police, and supported all protesters, detainees, and political activists. This imprisoned rapper was released on bail on November 18, 2023, 'after enduring 252 days in solitary confinement and a total of one year and 21 days in prison,' but only 12 days later, after a video was released detailing his torture in prison, he was re-arrested with 'beating.' The Revolutionary Court 'canceled' Tomaj Salehi's death sentence and ruled for his 'acquittal.' The news of the death sentence issued for this protest singer by the Revolutionary Court sparked a global wave of protests against this ruling, with human rights organizations and Western governments calling for the cancellation of this sentence and the release of Tomaj Salehi. In August of this year, Amir Reisiyaan, Tomaj Salehi's lawyer, announced that the Revolutionary Court of Isfahan, which was handling his client's case regarding the year 2022 and the charge of 'corruption on earth,' had issued a ruling of acquittal and canceled his death sentence. However, despite needing medical follow-up outside of prison and widespread domestic and international requests in this regard, this singer remains imprisoned in the Dastgerd prison in Isfahan.