Opinion
10 May 24

Sting, Coldplay and Damien Rice demand for Iran to release rapper Toomaj Salehi

Major cultural figures have signed a statement demanding that the Iranian governement drops the death penalty against the rapper

More than a hundred artists, musicians , writers and leading cultural figures – including Sting, Damien Rice, Margaret Atwood and Colum McCann – have signed a statement calling for the release of Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi.

Salehi, a known supporter of the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran, was sentenced to death by an Isfahan court on April 24 for his activism.

He was first arrested in September 2022 and spent over a year in prison, including 252 days in solitary confinement. When he was released on bail, he reported being "severely tortured” during his incarceration. Two weeks after, he was arrested again on charges of “corruption on Earth.”

Salehi has consistently used his music as a platform for his support of the demonstrations in the months following the death of Mahsa Amini while she was in the custody of the morality police.

#FreeToomaj: Over 100 worldwide artists & writers including @coldplay, @MargaretAtwood, @OfficialSting, @Elif_Safak have come together with @IndexCensorship in support of Toomaj Salehi.

The scale & diversity of the signatories sends a clear message to #Iran: Free @OfficialToomaj pic.twitter.com/ib1cE3uJj4

— Index on Censorship (@IndexCensorship) May 10, 2024

The statement calling for Salehi’s release, orchestrated by the advocacy group Index on Censorship, reads: “As artists, musicians, writers and leading cultural figures we stand in solidarity with Toomaj Salehi. We call for his death sentence to be immediately and unconditionally quashed and for him to be released from detention without delay, with all other charges dismissed.

“Art must be allowed to criticise, to provoke, to question and to challenge authority. That is both our right and our duty as artists.”

Jemimah Steinfeld, incoming chief executive at Index on Censorship, praised the widespread support for Salehi's release: “The scale and diversity of the signatories of this statement sends a clear message from the international cultural community that Toomaj should be released immediately.”