Tomaj Salehi's Case Sent to Revolutionary Court After Death Sentence Overturned

Tomaj Salehi's defense attorney stated that the case of this dissenting singer has been sent to the Revolutionary Court after the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic overturned the death sentence. Mustafa Nili, Salehi's lawyer, announced that the case was forwarded to the Revolutionary Court in Isfahan and that the hearing will take place on Sunday, August 21. Tomaj Salehi was arrested and imprisoned on November 8, 2022, during nationwide protests against the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police. He was released on bail at the end of November but was re-arrested 12 days later in December 2023. The first branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Isfahan sentenced this dissenting singer to death on April 30 of this year for 'conspiracy and collusion, and aiding in rebellion,' a ruling that was overturned by an appeal in July this year by the 39th branch of the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic. Abram Paley, the deputy special representative of the U.S. State Department for Iran, described this action as a 'pretense of flexibility' by the Islamic Republic aimed at 'misleading the world' and a judicial trick by the 'Iranian regime' to 'silence dissenters.' Meanwhile, Tomaj Salehi has faced multiple pressures and fabricated cases while in prison. Additionally, three human rights organizations previously announced that they had jointly submitted a complaint on behalf of Tomaj Salehi's family regarding his continued detention and the mistreatment by the authorities of the Islamic Republic to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Yan Van Ri, a member of the German Parliament and political sponsor of Tomaj Salehi, stated that they intend to fabricate a case against him. Reports indicate that the imprisoned rapper Vafa Ahmadpour has developed diabetes due to 'nervous pressure.' Danyal Moghadam, another dissenting rapper, was temporarily released on a bail of 5 billion tomans. The song 'Typhus' has been cited as a new instance of 'case fabrication' against Tomaj Salehi, with four charges including 'insulting the sacred.'