Iranian rapper sentenced to death, says lawyer

Musician Toomaj Salehi had backed anti-government nationwide protests in 2022

Hebollah, an Iran-backed group based in Lebanon, injured at least 14 IDF soldiers in strikes on Israel today, a day after two of the group's operatives were killed in an airstrike in Syria.

Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, who had backed anti-government nationwide protests in 2022, has been sentenced to death, his lawyer said Saturday.

Salehi was arrested in October 2022 and charged with "corruption on earth," a charge often used against dissidents in Iran. His lawyer, Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, said Saturday that his client had been sentenced to death by a revolutionary court in the city of Karaj, west of Tehran.

Aghasi said he would appeal the sentence, which he called "unjust and unfair." He said Salehi had been tortured in prison and denied access to a lawyer for months.

Salehi is a popular rapper who has been critical of the Iranian government in his music. In one of his most famous songs, "Ghesse," he raps about the economic and social problems facing Iranians.

The sentence against Salehi has been condemned by human rights groups. Amnesty International called it "a blatant attempt to silence dissent." Human Rights Watch said it was "deeply concerned" about the sentence and called on the Iranian government to quash it.

The United States has also condemned the sentence. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the United States is "deeply concerned" about the sentence and called on Iran to "immediately release" Salehi.