Second Court Session of ‘Tomaj Salehi’ Held Behind Closed Doors

The second court session of ‘Tomaj Salehi’ was held in closed session behind closed doors.

More than eight months have passed since the arrest of Tomaj Salehi, a rap singer and civil activist, and he remains in temporary detention. Throughout his detention, Tomaj has been denied a fair trial. The first court session of Tomaj Salehi was held on June 18, 2023 in closed session, following which representatives from parliaments of Italy, Germany, and New Zealand, who had taken on Tomaj’s political sponsorship, separately released videos stating that his first court session was held after 230 days of his arrest without any official media notification.

One of Tomaj’s friends who has kept his Twitter account active since his arrest wrote: “The second court session of Tomaj Salehi on Sunday morning, July 2, was held behind closed doors and in complete media silence.”

Similarly, ‘Jevan Reh’, a representative of the German Parliament and Tomaj’s political sponsor, tweeted after this closed and secretive session: “What is the Iranian regime so afraid of?” He warned about the possibility of a quick announcement of Tomaj’s verdict and called for extensive media coverage and support for the rapper.

Amir Raisian, Tomaj’s case lawyer, also announced that five charges are mentioned in his case, including “corruption,” “supervision of propaganda against the system,” “cooperation with hostile governments,” “inciting people to murder and riots,” and “insulting the leader of the system.” He also stated that months after Tomaj’s arrest, due to the restriction of Article 48 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Isfahan Prosecutor’s Office did not allow the presence of attorneys other than those approved by the judiciary in the case, and my representation and that of my colleague were not accepted; however, when Tomaj’s case was referred to the court following the issuance of a conviction order and indictment by the Isfahan Prosecutor’s Office, this restriction no longer had legal basis, and after repeated follow-ups, the court accepted our representation in the case.

It should be noted that in recent years, before the start of nationwide protests, Tomaj Salehi made efforts to support the internationalization of widespread protests by the Iranian people against the Islamic Republic system through the release of critical songs. He also reacted to the suppression of people during nationwide protests and expressed his opposition to senior Islamic Republic officials by releasing several videos, during which he was arrested by security forces in the early days of the nationwide protests.

Following the holding of the court hearing, even in secret, Tomaj’s political sponsors called for complete transparency and direct access to his legal case file, stating that nothing about Tomaj’s case is proceeding legally.