– Their lives are threatened because of their use of free words, says Sverre Pedersen in Freemuse, and adds: – Anyone who harms Toomaj Salehi and Saman Yasin commits an unforgivable crime. The photo is supposed to show Saman Yasin when he learned of his sentence. The images are taken from Iranian state television. Photo: Tasnim News Freemuse and Pedersen, together with Safemuse, have written a letter to Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt and Culture Minister Anette Trettebergstuen, in which they urge the Norwegian government to do everything to save the lives of Salehi and Yasin. Both organizations work for artists’ freedom worldwide. Yasin is a Kurdish-Iranian rapper and Salehi is an Iranian rapper. Their texts are often critical of the regime and address issues such as abuse and oppression in Iran. In one of his songs, Salehi sings: “Someone’s crime was to let their hair flutter in the wind. Another’s crime was that he or she was brave and outspoken.” This is one of several texts that the regime considers crimes. The rappers are accused of “enmity against God” and of “gross corruption”. Such a sentence usually ends with the death penalty in Iran, according to Pedersen. Ever since the death of Jina Masha Amini, Iranians have taken to the streets to express their displeasure with the regime. Photo: CLEMENS BILAN / EPA The family: – They are being tortured Both have been active in the demonstrations that have characterized the country after the death of 22-year-old Jina Masha Amini. On social media, they have shared several videos from the demonstrations, where you can hear them demanding a change in Iran. – These are not two rappers who have come to life now. Through their art, they have challenged the oppression and harassment of people in Iran over a long period of time, says Pedersen. Salehi has been under arrest since October 30 this year. Yasin has been imprisoned since 2 October. Toomaj Salehi works daily at a smelter, but has gained a large following for his regime-critical hip-hop songs. Photo: Hossein Ronaghi / Wikimedia Commons Pedersen says that he has been in contact with the families of the rappers. – They say that their sons have been subjected to severe torture in prison. We have received confirmation that the nose and fingers are broken, in addition to extensive damage to the legs as a result of the torture they are subjected to, claims Pedersen. He adds that the families are not given the judgment papers because the court says that a publication is a threat to the security of the kingdom. The family also claims that the rappers do not get access to their own lawyer, according to Pedersen. Iran denies In an email to news, Iran’s embassy denies that Salehi and Yasin have been subjected to torture and that they do not have access to a lawyer. – Toomaj Salehi and Saman Yasin were not arrested because they participated in peaceful demonstrations, but because they participated in, and encouraged, violent and disturbing activities. Saman Salehi held a gun and fired three shots in a public place, writes the embassy. – The law should be enforced without discrimination, and no social status should lead to impunity, not even for artists, writes the embassy further. Amnesty Iran writes on Twitter that Salehi was forced to confess that he fired a gun under torture. 83-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989. On November 26, Khamenei’s own niece was arrested for calling the regime murderous. Photo: AFP Norwegian authorities: – Deeply concerned – We want tougher pressure from the Norwegian government. Stronger public statements against the savage violence to which the regime subjects its people. Clear demands to stop the death sentences and carrying out executions, says Pedersen. State Secretary Erling Rimestad (Ap) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes in an e-mail to news that they have not taken up the treatment of Salehi and Yasin. – But as recently as yesterday, the Iranian ambassador was summoned to a meeting in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, writes Rimestad. – There we made it clear that what is now happening in the country is completely unacceptable and must stop, he writes further, and emphasizes that the Norwegian authorities are deeply concerned and condemn the execution of people who have participated in the demonstrations after Mahsa Amini’s death. Targeted attacks Pedersen believes that the authorities target musicians and artists because they see them as a particular threat due to their follower base and ability to reach out. Today he works with 50 various artists who are imprisoned in Iran. He has done that for the last 10 weeks. He learned about Salehi and Yasin a few days after they were jailed. – We want to pressure the authorities in Iran to stop this madness and the insane violence directed at the population, says Pedersen, who also encourages the Norwegian people to get more involved. – We must support these brave, young people who go out into the streets even though they know that the soldiers have been ordered to shoot to kill. Exile Iranians mark their support for the Iranian people after it became known that Majidreza Rahnavard had been publicly hanged in the city of Mashhad in the northeast of the country. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB Several sentenced to death So far, two people have been executed in Iran as a result of the demonstrations. On Monday, it became known that Majidreza Rahnavard was executed in the city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran. The young man was publicly hanged in one of the city’s squares. – The authorities used a building crane to hang Rahnavard, as a shock and warning to everyone else, wrote news’s Middle East correspondent Yama Wolasmal the day after the execution. On Monday, Majidreza Rahnavard was publicly hanged in the city of Mashhad. Photo: 1500Tasvir According to the Norwegian-based human rights organization Iran Human Rights, 11 people have been officially sentenced to death. – This is not the death penalty. This is murder, says leader Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, who explains that the escalation in violence by the authorities is a message to the people that they are capable of killing them – both on the streets and in prisons. According to Iran Human Rights, a total of 458 Iranians have so far been killed following the death of Jina Masha Amini. 63 of these are children.
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Fears that Iranian rappers will be executed – news Culture and entertainment
