Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi Allegedly Physically Tortured By Government Over Song

While Americans are questioning if Kanye West has the right to freedom of speech, an Iranian rapper has just been physically tortured by the government for his songs of protest and his activism after a young woman was murdered by the police for not wearing a hijab.

According to India Today, the famous rapper and activist Toomaj Salehi was arrested by Iranian security forces for being an anti-hijab protester. 

Sources say the rapper, who has over 700,000 followers on Instagram, was taken to an undisclosed location by troops, detaining him while he tried to cross the country’s western borders.

Family members of the artist have denied that this is true.

They allege the political artist was located in the southwestern provinces of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari when he was arrested. 

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A post shared by Toomaj Salehi | توماج صالحی (@toomajofficial)

Salehi is also not being treated well, the family relayed to the press.

The rapper’s uncle Eghbal Eghbali revealed on Instagram that Toomaj is currently a victim of the government’s “cruelest methods of torture.” 

He asked the Iranian people and the international community to bring justice to Salehi, fearing his life was in danger and that he could be killed due to his political views.

Toomaj Salehi had frequently spoken out against Iranian officials on his platform, sources say, and standing in support of the national protests over the last few weeks over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman.

Amini died on September 16th, 2022, in a hospital in Tehran. The Guidance Patrol, aka the “morality police,” arrested Amini for not wearing a hijab in public. 

The police claimed she had a heart attack and slipped into a coma. However, witnesses and two of her friends who were with her when she was detained said Amini was severely beaten by officers with The Guidance Patrol.

An independent autopsy concluded Amini died of a cerebral hemorrhage. The news set off the largest protests in the country since 2009. Unfortunately, the Iranian regime has targeted the protesters with extreme violence.

According to human rights watch groups, over 300 people, including over 20 children, have been killed by security forces since the protests started in September.