Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi’s death sentence has been overturned following efforts from advocates around the world, including North Vancouver MP Jonathan Wilkinson.
The rapper’s lawyer, Amir Raisian, shared the news that his death sentence had been overturned in a post on X on June 22.
Wilkinson, Member of Parliament for North Vancouver and Minister of Natural Resources, acted as a political sponsor for Salehi after he was sentenced to death in Iran on April 24 by an Islamic Revolutionary court.
“This is good news but it’s not enough,” Wilkinson stated on social media following the news that Salehi’s death sentence had been overturned. “The Iranian regime needs to free Toomaj Salehi immediately and throw out their case against him entirely.”
In 2023, Toomaj was charged with “spreading corruption on Earth” due to his support for the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran in 2022-23. The news sparked protests by the Iranian diaspora worldwide, including in Canada. Wilkinson was outspoken in his support for Salehi and the push for more human rights in Iran.
“The hope of all sponsorships, including that of Toomaj Salehi, is to prevent execution and pressure the regime for these individuals’ freedom,” Wilkinson said in an interview with North Shore News on May 3. “It is also to ensure that the regime knows that the world is watching their gross violation of human rights, including arresting many people like Toomaj Salehi on false or trumped-up accusations and forcing them through sham trials.”
The Women, Life, Freedom movement began following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested in Tehran by morality police – a dedicated unit that enforces strict dress codes for women – on Sept. 16, 2022. Since the protests started in Iran, there have been at least 537 deaths and 22,000 arrests.
Last week the Canadian parliament unanimously passed the Toomaj Sanctions, related to the death sentence issued for the dissident Iranian rapper. The motion sanctions 31 judicial officials involved in the death sentence.
The motion from NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Heather McPherson, an MP from Edmonton Strathcona, also condemns gender apartheid, violations of civil liberties, killings, intimidation, and acts of violence initiated by the Islamic Republic against the people of Iran and reiterates Canada’s unconditional support for Iranians advocating for human rights and democracy as part of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, according to the NDP.
Since October 2022, Canada has imposed multiple sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities and its leadership.
Hamid Jafari is a Vancouver-based freelance journalist who writes about the Iranian community in Canada, art, culture, and social media trends. His work for the North Shore News is supported by New Canadian Media. [email protected]
