00:00 His lyrics are perceived as a threat by the Iranian regime.
00:04 Rapper Tumaj Salehi has millions of fans in and outside Iran,
00:09 but a court in Isfahan has sentenced him to death for corruption on earth.
00:15 The 32-year-old uses his songs to speak out against the establishment.
00:22 From the start of the protest movement after the death of Massa Amini,
00:26 Salehi has supported the demonstrations.
00:29 Arrested and jailed in 2022,
00:32 he dared to speak out on the conditions of his detention after his release.
00:37 I was tortured for a long time during my detention.
00:40 They would hit my hands, my feet.
00:43 When I tried to protect myself with my hands, they'd break my fingers.
00:49 It's that testimony that could now cost him his life.
00:52 One of his lawyers, based in France,
00:54 says the death sentence is a sign of the regime's fragility.
00:58 The Iranian justice system is doing everything in its power
01:01 to convict opponents, so it's really a political justice system.
01:05 But when it comes to Tumaj, it's really taking extraordinary proportions
01:09 because sentencing someone to death for a few words
01:11 is something that could be described as barbaric.
01:14 853 Iranians were executed last year, the highest number since 2015.
01:21 Today, the protest movement lives on, but more discreetly.
01:24 Women continue to remove their headscarves in organised gatherings
01:27 - a non-violent way of resisting oppression.
01:33 The protest movement may be less spectacular,
01:36 but it's just as courageous and dangerous,
01:38 and it's spread across all layers and generations of Iranian society.
01:45 Salehi can still appeal against the issuing of his death sentence,
01:49 but in the meantime, his fans are calling for international mobilisation to save him.
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