Tomaj Salehi to Receive International 'Havel' Award for 'Creative Opposition'

The name of Tomaj Salehi, the Iranian protest artist, has been announced as one of the three recipients of the 'International Václav Havel Award' for 2024. The 'Human Rights Foundation' announced on Wednesday, May 23, that the 'International Václav Havel Award' for 'Creative Opposition' will be awarded to Tomaj Salehi, the Iranian protest artist, Tahir Hamut Izgil, a Uyghur poet and activist, and Gabriela Montero, a Venezuelan pianist. In the foundation's statement, based in Oslo, Norway, it is mentioned that the Havel Award honors individuals each year who 'courageously and creatively unveil tyranny and embody the meaning of life in truth.' Václav Havel, the former president of the Czech Republic, was a poet, playwright, dissident, statesman, and former president of the Human Rights Foundation. Thor Halvorsen, the founder of the Human Rights Foundation, described the activities of Tomaj Salehi, Tahir Hamut Izgil, and Gabriela Montero as 'signs of their extraordinary courage and genius' during the ceremony held on Wednesday. According to the foundation's statement, the award ceremony for this year's winners is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 4, at the 'Oslo Freedom Forum 2024' in Oslo, where each winner will receive $50,000. Additionally, over 100 artists, musicians, and writers have called for the immediate cancellation of the death sentence and the release of Tomaj Salehi. The Human Rights Foundation's statement referred to Tomaj Salehi as an Iranian hip-hop artist known for his works 'in protest against the Iranian regime' and his demand for 'human rights.' Meanwhile, the reputable British organization 'Index on Censorship' reported that every day, the world is uniting behind calls for the unconditional freedom of Tomaj Salehi. This website considered the awarding of the International Václav Havel Award to this protest singer as a reflection of his efforts in support of freedom of expression. Nazanin Boniadi, a human rights activist and artist, also welcomed the awarding of the International Václav Havel Award on social media. Masih Alinejad, a journalist and political activist opposed to the Islamic Republic, also welcomed the news on social media, expressing hope that the awarding of this prize would 'attract the attention of democratic countries and encourage them to intervene and prevent the execution of Tomaj, Mahmoud Moharabi, and other innocent protesters awaiting execution.' Tomaj Salehi was arrested and imprisoned in early October 2022 in connection with nationwide protests over the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police. He was released on bail a year later but was arrested again a few days later and sent to prison in Isfahan. On April 18, 2023, Tomaj Salehi was tried in the first branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Isfahan on charges of 'conspiracy and collusion, and complicity in sedition,' and his death sentence was communicated to his lawyers on May 25. Amir Raeisian, one of his lawyers, noted at the time that the death sentence had previously been overturned by the Supreme Court. He also mentioned that a request for appeal had been filed with the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic in the case of this protest singer. The issuance of a death sentence for Tomaj Salehi has sparked a wave of domestic and international protests. Among those, Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor of the White House, condemned the issuance of the death sentence for Tomaj Salehi and called for his immediate release, stating in a post on social media that 'Tomaj's voice amplifies the hopes of the Iranian people and all those silenced by the Iranian regime.'