Iran rapper Toomaj Salehi could face death penalty: judiciary

An Iranian rapper who expressed support for anti-regime protests is charged with "corruption on earth" and could face the death penalty, judicial authorities confirmed on Sunday.

A US-based rights group had tweeted on Saturday that Toomaj Salehi's trial had begun "without a lawyer of his choice", and his family said his "life is at serious risk".

"The trial has not yet begun but the charge against Toomaj Salehi has been drafted and sent back" to the court in Isfahan, said Assadollah Jafari, judicial chief in the central province, according to the judiciary's Mizan Online website.

Salehi is charged with "corruption on earth", according to the judiciary, one of the Islamic Republic's most serious offences.

He is also accused of spreading "lies on the internet, propaganda against the state, of having formed and managed illegal groups with the aim of disrupting security in cooperation with a government hostile" to Iran, and of inciting people to violence.

Iran's judiciary says more than 2,000 people have been charged since the start of the protests.

Salehi is among a number of prominent figures detained.

The 16 September death in morality police custody of Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini, 22, for allegedly breaching the strict dress code for women, sparked nationwide demonstrations. Amini's Kurdish first name can be spelt "Zhina" or "Jina".

Authorities call the protests "riots" and say they are encouraged by Iran's Western "enemies".

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk says around 14,000 people have been arrested over the protests.

Salehi had disappeared at the end of October before appearing in a video published on 2 November by Iran's state news agency IRNA.

The video claimed to show the first images of Salehi after his arrest.

Iran's foreign ministry has condemned a UN Human Rights Council decision to probe the government's response to unrest following the death of Mahsa Aminihttps://t.co/xnyUlLFuTn

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) November 25, 2022

In it, the man says: "I am Toomaj Salehi. I said I made a mistake."

Rights activists condemned the recording as a forced confession.

His detention came shortly after he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: "You are dealing with a mafia that is ready to kill the entire nation… in order to keep its power, money and weapons."

Iran's judiciary has already confirmed six death sentences over the protests, and rights group Amnesty International says that based on official reports at least 21 people currently on trial are charged with crimes that could see them hanged.