Amnesty International launched a "Take Action" appeal on Thursday, urging the public to demand the “immediate and unconditional release” of dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi as authorities issued new charges.
The organization called on its supporters to send letters to Iran’s head of judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, advocating for Salehi's release and the dropping of all charges against him.
On July 10, intelligence agents interrogated Salehi without a lawyer present, focusing on new cases related to his song "Typhus," which was released in March 2024 while he was imprisoned.
Salehi now faces four charges: “spreading propaganda against the system” and “inciting people to war and killing with the intention to disrupt national security” before the Revolutionary Court, and “insulting religious sanctities” and “spreading lies with the intention of disturbing public opinion” in a criminal court.
Amnesty warned that if convicted on these charges, Salehi faces prolonged imprisonment.
In the song, Salehi criticizes state-supported rappers in a style known as a "diss" in the hip-hop genre. None of the charges, including inciting war, spreading propaganda, insulting religious sanctities, or disturbing public opinion, are evidenced in the track. Amnesty International has labeled these charges as “spurious,” noting that Salehi is being targeted solely for his peaceful exercise of human rights, including freedom of expression through his music.
The Iranian judiciary has a history of building cases against dissidents on trumped-up charges to silence dissent. Negin Niknaam, an Iranian activist and Salehi's social media manager, told Iran International English on Friday that Iran's intelligence agencies have levied new charges against Salehi to prevent his release on bail after previous efforts to execute him sparked global outrage.
Salehi was first arrested on September 13, 2021, in a separate case following the release of the track “Mouse Hole.” He was arbitrarily detained for a second time on October 30, 2022, during Iran’s nationwide Women, Life, Freedom uprising on various charges including “corruption on earth” for which he was sentenced to death in April 2024.
Although he was granted bail on November 18, 2023, the 33-year-old rapper was re-arrested less than two weeks later on new charges of "publishing falsehoods" and “propaganda against the state” for which he was sentenced to one-year imprisonment after releasing a video detailing his torture experiences in custody. Currently, Salehi remains imprisoned at Dastgerd Prison in Esfahan serving the one-year prison sentence while awaiting the legal outcome of the 2022 case against him following the overturning of his death sentence. However, since his arrest in October 2022 Salehi has been in prison for almost 2 years.
However, with the new charges brought against the rapper and the pending re-sentencing from the 2022 case, his fate remains unknown.
Amnesty further noted that Salehi continues to suffer from torture-related injuries, including pain in his leg and hands for which he needs surgery, but the authorities have denied him access to adequate medical care.
Some pundits interpret Pezeshkian’s much-publicized participation at these ceremonies, and his speeches in some instances, as an attempt to appeal to a broader population than those who voted for him in the recent snap elections, during which most famed and influential ‘eulogists’ (maddahs) publicly endorsed his rivals.
Ashura, the anniversary of the killing of Shias’ Imam Hussein 1,400 years ago, is one of the most significant dates on Iran’s religious and political calendar. Hussein, the son of Ali—the fourth Caliph after Prophet Muhammad—and himself a victim of assassination, was killed in a dispute over who should rule the expanding Arab empire. This event is central to Shia Islam, which primarily continues the power dispute from fourteen centuries ago.
Iran’s clerical regime is based on the religious ideology that regards Ali and Hussein as the rightful heirs to Muhammad and Islam. Therefore, religious symbolism plays a crucial role in the politics of the Islamic Republic. The Shiite rulers believe their legitimacy draws from Hussein’s killing on October 10, 680. They pay special attention to Ashura and other religious occasions to mobilize people and claim political support through various ceremonies.
Maddahs play an increasingly influential role in the regime's religious propaganda. They are laymen who perform eulogies of Shia imams, often accompanied by stirring music to attract younger audiences at religious gatherings. Since the 1990s, the status of maddahs in mourning ceremonies has significantly expanded, elevating their role to be on par with, if not more prominent than, that of clerics.
Some maddahs have also formed strong political alliances with rival politicians. They comment on political matters and disputes and together with their congregations often act as political pressure groups. Sitting next to a ceremony's maddah is usually interpreted as a political endorsement.
Some famous maddahs supported the ultra-hardliner Saeed Jalili in the recent snap elections while others rallied behind his more pragmatist rival Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf.
Maddahs and their profession enjoy Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s support. Some maddahs known for their highly aggressive political views often perform at his public mourning events.
The Jomhouri Eslami newspaper, a conservative daily run by a cleric in Tehran, described the increasing involvement of maddahs and their mourning groups in politics as "political games," a "bitter fact," and a "deadly disease" that cannot be ignored.
The paper argued in article on July 14 that endorsements by maddahs and their claims that “saving Islam depended on voting for one or another of the candidates” and that the victory of the rival could “obliterate religion” represent “a clear deviation” from the righteous path.
“Some of these people desire to appoint presidents and some others are seeking to turn the Islamic Republic into a ‘republic of maddahs’!” the newspaper which often voices the concerns of conservative clerics wrote.
Some well-known maddahs, such as Mansour Arzi and Mahmoud Karimi, have insulted and slandered high-ranking political figures, including presidents like Mohammad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, and Hassan Rouhani, in their highly politically charged eulogies. These maddahs have acted with immunity, especially when their actions were perceived as aligning with Khamenei's wishes. In fact, the rise of maddahs has coincided with the ascendancy of Khamenei in the past three decades.
Maddahs are often affiliated with one or more mourning groups (hey’at), which may be funded entirely or partially by donations from various sources, including mosques, neighborhood residents, clerics or groups of clerics, guilds, wealthy and influential business owners, government bodies, and municipalities.
The principal role of hey’ats is organizing gatherings to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.
The ceremonies and processions take place mainly during the first ten days of the Islamic month of Muharram and on Arba’in (Arbaeen) that marks the fortieth day of the Imam’s martyrdom.
Hey’ats, which played a significant political role in Iran's Constitutional Revolution of 1901, the uprising that followed the arrest of Ruhollah Khomeini in 1963, as well as the Islamic Revolution of 1979 have also assumed the role of political pressure groups over the past three decades.
Some hey’ats and their maddahs are believed to be closely connected with the Revolutionary Guards’ (IRGC) militia force (Basij) and security forces.
There are at least 150,000 maddahs in Iran now some of whom receive “astronomical” sums as “gifts” for their much-advertised performances from hey’ats as well as benefits and healthcare services from government and state propaganda bodies.
Iran's ongoing housing crisis has seen a 70-square meter apartment in one of Tehran's cheapest neighborhoods, Berianak, now cost at least $460 a month, way beyond the average salary of around $240 a month.
To delve deeper into the issue, we investigated the cheapest districts in Tehran to examine the costs of a modest flat. Districts 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 in the southern capital are known as the cheapest areas for renting and buying houses.
Divar, a classified ads and e-commerce mobile app, is widely used in Iran to check real estate prices. Founded in 2012, Divar serves as an online platform for real estate, vehicles, goods, community services, industrial equipment, and jobs. Our research converted deposit amounts and monthly rents to US dollars for better reader understanding, using the day's exchange rate of 580,000 rials per dollar.
In Iran, the deposit is treated as part of the total rent. Paying a deposit of 1,000,000,000 rials ($1,700) upfront can reduce the monthly rent by 30,000,000 rials (over $50). Alternatively, depositing the same amount in a bank can yield a monthly return of 20,000,000 rials ($35).
A 50-square-meter apartment in Shahrak-e Valiasr in District 18 is offered for 125,000,000 rials per month, or about $215. This leaves an average income earner with only $25 for other expenses for a family to live on for a month.
A larger but older apartment is offered for 225,000,000 rials ($387) per month. This flat is nearly 20 years old but has been newly painted and refurbished.
In the southernmost neighborhoods, such as district 20, mostly the Rey region, a 40-square-meter flat is advertised for $205 per month. Another flat without a lift and parking space, located on the third floor and 15 years old, is offered for $230. The owner is willing to rent it to a single person, a rare option, especially for single women who often struggle to find suitable housing.
In districts 15, 16, 17, and 19, the monthly rent for a 50-square-meter apartment ranges from $200 to $400, depending on factors such as age, parking space, number of floors, and proximity to amenities like parks, schools, and the metro.
Empty promises from officials to reduce rent rates
On Wednesday, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Mehrdad Bazrpash, stated that “the cap on housing rent increases in the provinces was set at an average of 25%” for the current year (ending in March).
However, in reality, rents have increased by nearly 50% compared to the previous year according to the Vice President of the Real Estate Union, Davoud Beiginejad, citing data from the Central Bank and completed transactions.
This starkly contradicts all the promises the government has made regarding the reduction of housing rent.
Criticizing the policy announced by the minister, Namad-e Eqtesad, an economic website, wrote that mandated actions in the market are detrimental to both the market and tenants, such policies possibly leading to a decrease in the supply of rental housing.
"Currently, paying rent has become unaffordable for a large number of tenant households, and the fact that some groups are still managing to pay rent under the current conditions is nothing short of a miracle," the site noted.
Mahan, who married two years ago, works for a private company and told Iran International that his salary is about 170,000,000 rials ($295) monthly. He lives in a flat in Tehransar, southwest of Tehran.
His wife is a housewife, and he is the sole breadwinner. They have no children yet. He says he rented a flat for $150 right after marriage, but the landlord asked for $200 the following year and $300 this year to renew the contract.
"I am so desperate. I don’t know what to do. This means I have to pay more than my income for rent, and nothing will be left to live on. We are thinking of getting divorced and living with our parents," he added.
We also spoke with Mahdi, a worker at a furniture workshop in Mortezagerd near Tehran. He is a father of two and works 14 hours a day to make ends meet, but still struggles.
His wife runs an online clothing shop. Together, they earned almost $400 monthly last year, but with nearly 50% inflation and the rise of the US dollar against the rial, their income has dramatically dropped. Mahdi said he paid $200 for rent per month last year but now has to pay $300, which consumes all their income after the rial's depreciation.
Reza Gheibi, an economic journalist, told Iran International that the rise in the cost of land, labor, and construction materials amid heavy global sanctions on the country has all contributed to the increase in housing prices and rents.
He predicted this trend will continue as it began in February with the rise of the US dollar against the rial, and after a few months, its effect on the rent market became evident. "The coming months will see worse incidents, especially for tenants," he predicted.
Almost two thirds of Iran's population now live below the poverty line, with record unemployment and ongoing international sanctions which have seen even Iran's educated middle class thrust into poverty.
One person was killed and at least ten people injured in the drone attack, which happened around 3 a.m. local time Friday.
Evidence from the aftermath shows it was an Iranian-made drone Samad- 3 model sent by Houthi rebels that struck very close to the US consulate, which was the site of the former US Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Until Friday, Houthi drones or missiles directed at Israel had all been intercepted. Israel's military is investigating why it missed the drone. However, the Houthis have seriously disrupted international commercial shipping in the Red Sea by attacking cargo ships and tankers since November. The US and Britain have retaliated several times against Houthi military targets without deterring the Iran-backed militia ruling over more than half of Yemen.
Alex Selsky, an advisor to the Middle East Forum, said the explosion proves that this is not a war between Israel and Iran's proxies, but rather a broader conflict that is being fought in Israel. He said Israel is a symbol of the United States and the West in the Middle East, and pays a price for it.
"It proves again and again that it's not only about Gaza, it's not only about Lebanon, and it's not only about Israel. It's about the United States and the West. Because no such attack can be executed without minimum coordination, maximum instruction from Iran. And no such thing can be done without Iran being backed by its biggest allies: Russia and China," said Selsky.
Selsky, who was also a former advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the timing of the attack and location are significant.
The strike happened just as former President Donald Trump, gave his keynote address at the fourth and final night of the Republican National Convention (RNC) Thursday evening in Milwaukee just five days after an assassination attempt that could have ended his life. Then the drone attack taking place near the US consulate in Tel Aviv.
Selsky said ultimately no one knows for sure if that was all intentional but when you connect the dots a pattern does appear.
Beni Sabti, an expert on Iran from the Israeli National Security and Strategy Institute (INSS) said the drone attack in Tel Aviv exposes a weakness in Israeli defensive strategy policy, that may embolden its adversaries if action isn't taken.
The cornerstone of Israel's national security strategy is its 'defensive strategy,' reflecting its preference to manage conflicts as much as possible.
"It's the time that Israel has to show itself and its capabilities and its quality," Sabti told Iran International.
He made an analogy to a soccer match, saying you can't always be on the defense when you're playing, you have to also attack to win the game.
"You cannot only defend. You have to go to the source to neutralize it, even if it's in Yemen. If you don't want to deal directly with Iran, then we need to deal with the shooter. If we don't go to the head, we have to deal with the fingers or the hands that are doing it," he said.
In April Iran launched a massive barrage of 350 missiles and drone at Israel. Israeli air defenses and allies warplanes shot down 99% of the projectiles, but it was the first time that the Islamic government in Iran dared to directly target Israel. There was a limited Israeli retaliation against one target in Iran and since then no escalation took place.
The IDF posted to X on Friday "regardless of who pulls the trigger, we know who is the loading the gun."
Israeli officials are hinting of a possible response on Yemeni territory with a retaliatory attack under consideration, according to the Jerusalem Post.
An official comment has not been made yet by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari posted to X addressing the latest attack.
“We are fighting a multi front war. Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the militias in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Houthis in Yemen, all the Iranian proxies, and Iran itself.”
A spokesperson for the Houthis, Yahya Saree, said they would continue to attack Israel, according to Reuters.
There are fears of wider regional conflict with Israel exchanging daily missiles and artillery fire from Hezbollah since the war in Gaza.
