6 Mar 2025 | Iran, Middle East and North Africa, News and features
The beauty and power of Iran’s music is being strangled, with many musicians jailed and tortured purely for raising their voices against the regime’s viciousness and in harmony with those protesting against it.
The case of rapper and Index Freedom of Expression award-winner Toomaj Salehi has been the highest profile case of Iran cracking down on freedom of expression among the country’s musicians but he is not alone. Index was at the heart of the campaign to get Salehi’s sentence commuted and he was eventually released but the country’s other musicians still face persecution.
Musicians like Salehi are regularly thrown in jail for highlighting the brutality and hypocrisy of Iran’s government. Even after release from prison, if they are lucky, these musicians still face surveillance and control.
Singer Mehdi Yarrahi, whose song Roosarito (Your Headscarf) gained widespread attention and became an anthem of resistance, was jailed in early 2024 for challenging “the morals and customs of Islamic society”. After his release on medical grounds, he was forced to wear an ankle tag to track his movements. A source told Index that this has only recently been removed. This week, it was reported that Yarrahi had been sentenced to the inhumane torture of 74 lashes to end the criminal case against him.
In May last year, rappers Vafa Ahmadpour and Danial Moghaddam were sentenced to prison for “propaganda against the regime”. Our source tells us they are serving their sentences under house arrest and must wear ankle tags to restrict movement away from their homes.
These sentences and treatment, for simply writing songs of protest, are unjust.
Another recent case involves musician and activist Khosrow Azarbeig who was arrested in Tehran on 17 February for “insulting” former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad following a protest performance in Tehran’s metro.
The lawyer Amir Raesian shared the news on X: “Mr. Khosrow Azarbeig, a daf player, was arrested on Monday evening on a street in Tehran. His family has been informed that his charge is ‘insulting Bashar al-Assad’.”
It follows a string of other actions against musicians and singers in the country.
Last July, Zara Esmaeili was arrested by Iranian security forces at her home in Karaj. Her arrest came after online footage emerged of her on the streets of Tehran singing the Amy Winehouse hit Back To Black without wearing a hijab.
According to a friend, just one day before her arrest, she tried to prevent the security police from detaining one of her friends in Tehran. This escalated into a confrontation with security forces, ultimately resulting in her violent arrest.
The exiled Iranian filmmaker Vahid Zarezadeh, now in Germany, told Index: “Zara Esmaeili was not widely known in the media, which meant that her voice remained largely unheard. She has been in detention for several months now, yet her family has received no information about her whereabouts or the reason for her arrest – a scenario all too familiar for many detainees in Iran.”
“Since then, there has been no official information about the charges against her, her legal status, or even where she is being held. Meanwhile, her Instagram account was suspended by order of the Iranian judiciary – a common tactic used to silence activists and dissidents.”
He added: “Our best assumption is that she is being held in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, as no one inside the prison has seen or heard from her. Her situation remains shrouded in uncertainty, and, like many others, the complete silence surrounding her case could indicate that she is under severe pressure in detention.”
In December, the singer Parastoo Ahmadi was arrested along with two band members for performing a livestream concert in the symbolic venue of an old caravanserai (an inn which provided lodging for travellers) without wearing a hijab, violating Iran’s strict rules on dress for women.
Posting the concert on her channel, she wrote: “I am Parastoo, a girl who wants to sing for the people I love. This is a right I could not ignore; singing for the land I love passionately. Here, in this part of our beloved Iran, where history and our myths intertwine, hear my voice in this imaginary concert and imagine this beautiful homeland… I am grateful to all those who have supported me in these difficult and special circumstances.”
The other members arrested were Iranian composer Ehsan Beyraghdar and guitarist Soheil Faghih Nasiri.
The Iranian authorities issued a statement saying that the concert took place “without legal authorisation and adherence to Sharia principles” and that appropriate action would be taken against the singer and production team. Since it was posted, the video has attracted 2.5 million views and was widely shared on Iranian social media, despite YouTube being banned in the country.
Ahmadi and the others have since been released on bail pending a trial.
Meanwhile, the controversial Iranian rapper Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo (better known as Amir Tataloo) is facing up to 15 years in prison.
The singer, known for being completely covered in tattoos, fled to Istanbul, Turkey in 2018 following repeated arrests by the Iranian authorities. In December 2023, he was deported by Turkish authorities, seemingly for visa violations although some reports say that his return to Iran was of his own volition. On crossing into Iran at the Bazargan border crossing, he was arrested.
While he was in Turkey, controversy swirled around Tataloo including allegations of attempts to groom young girls.
In 2020, Tataloo’s Instagram profile was suspended after he was accused of inviting young girls to join his “harem”. He later allegedly posted an audio file on Telegram justifying his position in which he said: “What I discussed was legitimate by the laws of our country and our religion. It is in our religion that you can have… four wives and 40 concubines. Also, marriage above the age of nine is allowed in Islam. But I said 15 to 16 years of age. Then I said with the consent of the parents, so that there would be no controversy.”
Since his return to Iran, he has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for “promoting corruption and prostitution”, a sentence upheld by the Court of Appeal. He faces a further five years for “insulting religious sanctities” but this is currently under review by the Supreme Court.
Some reports have claimed that Tataloo has been sentenced to death for blasphemy against the Prophet (“Sabb al-Nabi”). However, the Iranian judiciary’s media centre has denied this, stating that his final sentence has not yet been issued.
“Many individuals and social groups hesitate to support him due to his unpredictable character,” said Zarezadeh. “His supporters and critics alike constantly anticipate his next move – one day he performs a concert on the deck of an Iranian military vessel, another day he poses alongside President Ebrahim Raisi, and then at another moment, he positions himself as an opposition figure. All of these contradictions have made his case even more ambiguous.”
Despite the controversy surrounding Tataloo and his alleged crimes, the fact is that Iran has a problem with the freedom of expression of its musicians. Music was never intended to be silenced but heard. This systemic persecution has to stop.
6 Dec 2024 | Iran, News and features, Volume 53.03 Autumn 2024
Iran, a country that in its distant past played a significant role in the development of knowledge and laid the foundations upon which modern science now stands, has experienced a tremendous urge for scientific rebirth over the past century.
But Iranian scientists are facing a government that considers itself the manifestation of God’s will on Earth, that has no qualms about intimidation and oppression, and whose daily rhetoric revolves around the word “enemy”.
It wants its ideological model to be seen as the path to success and is terrified of criticism, quickly making everything from nuclear energy and the space industry to vaccination and public medical services into a security issue.
It may be no surprise that Iran’s nuclear programme is now securitised, and that the Supreme National Security Council demands silence or compliance from science and media institutions. The tool of national security has now become a pressure point in Iran for any thought that does not align with the government’s ideology.
I have covered science and technology news in Iran for more than 10 years. Although I’ve dealt with issues that were considered red lines on multiple occasions, the only time my colleagues and I received a death threat was when I published a story about the importance of blood transfusion and rejected the unscientific and dangerous practice of hijamat (cupping therapy – a form of Islamic traditional medicine). But that incident is in no way comparable to the deadly consequences of censorship that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic.
When the pandemic was claiming lives, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, banned the entry of vaccines from the USA and the UK into Iran. This was a decision that cost many lives.
The reaction of domestic media to this decision was silence under censorship, and when foreign media reacted they were accused of being agents of the enemy.
“You won’t find even one media outlet asking what the consequences of the leader’s decision were in this regard,” said one doctor and medical science activist, who asked to remain anonymous.
“Even Dr [Masoud] Pezeshkian, who is himself a physician, at that time – before his presidential election – when asked about the vaccine, said we didn’t want to import vaccines from certain countries based on our policy, although he was surely aware of the effects of this decision.”
While Iranian-made vaccines had not yet received their controversial approval, and parts of the Food and Drug Agency in the Ministry of Health were trying to enforce minimal oversight, the Ministry of Intelligence accused three scientists and managers of co-operating with the enemy and obstructing the approval of the vaccine.
It requested that the judiciary prosecute them.
Correspondence showing this was revealed only in a set of documents published by a hacker group called Ali’s Justice after it gained access to Iran’s judiciary.
In this correspondence, it was mentioned that, due to the matter’s sensitivity, the case should be investigated without informing the public or arresting the individuals. A few days later, the Barakat vaccine was approved in Iran.
Pressuring individuals active in scientific fields has a long history in Iran.
After the protests following the 2009 presidential election results, known as the Green Movement, several professors who supported them were expelled from universities. There were similar incidents after the events of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.
In late January 2018, the intelligence agency of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps arrested several environmental activists involved in a project to save the endangered Asiatic cheetah. The Tehran prosecutor accused them of espionage.
But a panel including ministers of justice and lawyers announced that they had found no evidence of espionage. Even the Ministry of Intelligence stated that it had no evidence to support the charges.
One of those arrested was conservationist Kavous Seyed-Emami, a Canadian citizen. Two weeks after his arrest, prison authorities informed his family that he had killed himself.
However, his family believe that his death was due to physical injuries resulting from torture in prison, and signs of beating were visible on his body.
Another detainee was forced to confess on state television, and others served their sentences in full. Finally, after enduring six years of imprisonment without any evidence of the reasons for their arrest, the remaining detainees were released in April as part of a pardon.
Blocking the flow of information
One of the methods researchers used during the pandemic to estimate the actual mortality rate from Covid-19 and expose the discrepancies in official statistics was to refer to the monthly birth and death statistics published by the National Organisation for Civil Registration.
Mahan Ghafari, a virology specialist at the University of Oxford who followed this issue, told Index how, after the reports were published, the organisation restricted and stopped publishing this data. Eventually, access to the organisation’s website was blocked for those outside Iran.
Another part of this pressure involves halting international collaborations. Ghafari recalls how, after a paper was published with an Israeli co-author, the Iranian regime accused all the scientific findings of being a plan against Iran by Israel.
Scientists working on Iran-related issues from outside the country face the risk of harassment. Even their travel to Iran and visiting their families is affected, so many prefer to stay silent.
In the wave of arrests of environmental activists, Kaveh Madani, who at the time was the deputy for education and research at the Department of Environment, was also arrested. He repeatedly spoke about security interrogations and the review of his communications by security agencies.
Although the official reason for his arrest was not announced, his explicit warnings about Iran’s water bankruptcy and the impending water crisis were widely considered to be a driving factor.
Madani later left Iran and was appointed as the director of the UN think-tank on water.
The story of Madani’s arrest is often cited as a cautionary tale. When globally recognised Iranian experts return to help improve the situation in Iran, they not only have to battle the complex bureaucracy of the political structure but also face unaccountable political entities. They risk interrogation, arrest, imprisonment and even death. This situation only exacerbates the self-censorship among Iranian scientists living abroad.
An Iranian-American researcher currently working in cosmology, who asked not to be named, told Index about another aspect of structural censorship and the pressures it creates.
“I would love to do things alongside my professional work that bring science into people’s homes – lectures, talks with the media, sharing my experiences. However, due to the fear of being targeted by political groups inside the country and the limitation on my ability to travel to Iran, I have completely stopped these activities. This fear halted great opportunities that could have been used to promote science and help Iran’s scientific development,” they said.
They also pointed out how Iranian scientists outside the country faced dual pressures. While the security environment and censorship prevent them from criticising a scientific project in Iran, they are deprived of many research opportunities elsewhere because of their Iranian background.
Their funding is sometimes denied if they have dual nationality, and they face more difficulties in advancing in the scientific community of their host country.
Powerful but chaotic censorship
When protests over the killing of Mahsa (Jina) Amini sparked the flames of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran, students and academic institutions were not spared from the assault. Not only were students attacked and suppressed, professors who raised their voices in support of them were also repressed.
Encieh Erfani, an assistant professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences in Iran, resigned in 2022 in protest against the regime’s treatment of students and is now continuing her scientific activities outside the country. She told Index about the wider issues.
“The problem here is that the censorship structure has red lines that you know exist and, from experience, you know you should not even come close to them,” she said.
What Erfani points to is one of the most significant reasons for the intensification of self-censorship in Iran. The fear of unknowingly crossing red lines leads to conservatism in the scientific community – a community that can grow only by pushing existing boundaries.
Kiarash Aramesh, director of the Pennsylvania Western University’s James F Drane Bioethics Institute, which focuses on biomedical sciences and the humane treatment of patients, agrees. He recently published a book on pseudoscience in medicine in Iran.
“As long as you don’t oppose the principles of Islamic traditional medicine, you can publish your articles. But the scientific institution in Iran is so influenced by politics that even within the scientific community there will be opposition to you,” he said.
Beyond slowing down the process of scientific development, censorship in Iran is creating a corrupt environment from which anti-scientific and pseudoscientific trends emerge and thrive.
“When there is corruption in society, there is also corruption within the scientific community. Contrary to popular belief that scientists are always pure and honest people, they, too, are subject to this corruption. Under the conditions of a totalitarian regime, in the absence of transparency and freedom of criticism, even scientists may engage in unethical behaviours and participate in corruption for personal gain. Just as we have seen in history, this story repeats itself,” Erfani said.
Censorship in science in Iran is a many-faced monster that, on the one hand, forces scientists within the country into conservatism and, on the other hand, tries to ideologise the structure of science through threats and intimidation.
It has discouraged and prevented many Iranian scientists abroad from participating in scientific discourse and contributing to its development in Iran. It restricts international collaboration between Iranian and non-Iranian scientists and it creates a dark space for the growth of corruption – a situation exacerbated by the repression and threats against science media and free scientific journalism.
2 Dec 2024 | Iran, News and features, Statements
Doughty Street Chambers, Index on Censorship and Human Rights Foundation welcome news that their client, Iranian rapper and activist Toomaj Salehi, has been released from prison overnight by Iranian authorities.
Mr Salehi’s release comes after 753 days spent in prison in Isfahan. He was initially arrested in October 2022 for his involvement in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini whilst in the custody of Iran’s morality police.
In April 2024, Mr Salehi was sentenced to death for crimes including “corruption on earth” – using his music and activism to support Iranian women and human rights in Iran. Even after his death sentence was overturned by Iran’s Supreme Court in July 2024, Mr Salehi remained in custody on a series of overlapping and shifting charges.
In May 2024, Mr Salehi’s counsel team at Doughty Street Chambers and Index on Censorship filed an Urgent Appeal with two UN Special Rapporteurs. In July 2024, Human Rights Foundation submiVed an individual complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in conjunction with the counsel team at Doughty Street Chambers and Index on Censorship.
In response to the news of his release, Mr Salehi’s cousin, Arezou Eghbali Babadi, said:
“The regime tried to silence Toomaj with a death sentence, tortured him to death to break his spirit, and now, after so much pain and injustice, they released him. The truth is: Toomaj should never have been in prison at all. And the root cause still remains—the inhumanity of the regime in Iran, a system that thrives on oppression and fear. That’s why we must remain vigilant to ensure Toomaj stays safe and his voice for freedom is never silenced again.”
Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, international counsel for Mr Salehi’s family, Index on Censorship, and Human Rights Foundation said:
“This is a time of celebration: our brave, brilliant client Toomaj Salehi is finally free, after 753 days’ imprisonment. Mr Salehi has long used his powerful art – his rapping, his music, his words – to support the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement and human rights in Iran. For this, the Iranian authorities have targeted him for years, attempting to silence him through arrests, imprisonment, torture, assaults, and even a death sentence.
But this is also a time for vigilance. Mr Salehi’s release has been achieved through sustained pressure upon the Iranian authorities, both inside and outside Iran. The world must not look away now: we must ensure Mr Salehi remains free and is never again subjected to the egregious violations of his rights which he has endured over the past 753 days.”
Jemimah Steinfeld, CEO of Index on Censorship, said:
“We are thrilled that Toomaj Salehi is finally free. He is a courageous and principled man who should never have been in jail. While he won’t be able to get back the years he has lost it is a relief for us to know he is reunited with his family. It has been a privilege to support Toomaj since his arrest and to work alongside brilliant colleagues at Doughty Street Chambers and Human Rights Foundation. Our thoughts are with Toomaj today. We are also thinking of the many other political prisoners still behind bars in Iran simply for exercising their free expression. Our fight for their rights continues.”
Claudia Bennett, legal and programs officer at Human Rights Foundation, said:
“HRF celebrates Toomaj’s release but demands the Iranian regime end its cycle of injustice. After enduring 753 days of wrongful detention, Toomaj should never face such persecution again. Even one more day behind bars on bogus charges is unacceptable. Let Toomaj rap, express himself, and live freely—this is his right, and it’s time the regime respects it.”
Speaking on X, Mr Salehi’s friend and manager of his social media accounts, Negin Niknaam, said:
“Toomaj Salehi, the son of Iran, after enduring 753 days of cruel, unjust and undocumented re-incarceration, by going through the excuses and legal games of those with interests, was released today on December 11, 1403 from Dastgerd prison in Isfahan, and the prisoner who was taken was victorious. He returned to the arms of his big family. While expressing joy and happiness at the end of more than one year, 9 months and 21 days of this cruel double captivity, we will wait for the end of all cases and false accusations and the complete and unconditional release of Toomaj.”
Notes to Editors:
• The international legal team at Doughty Street Chambers is led by Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, working with barristers Jonathan Price, Sam Jacobs and Nikila Kaushik. Any press queries for the international legal team should be directed to [email protected] or [email protected].
• Any press queries for Index on Censorship should be directed to Jemimah Steinfeld on [email protected].
• Any press queries for the Human Rights Foundation should be directed to Claudia Bennett at [email protected] or [email protected].
• Previous statements with more background information regarding the UN appeals and the quashing of Toomaj Salehi’s death sentence are available:
– Statement of 3rd May 2024: Urgent Appeal filed with United Nations for Iranian rapper sentenced to death for his music
– Statement of 22nd June 2024: Iran’s Supreme Court Overturns Death Sentence given to Iran Rapper Toomaj Salehi
– Statement of 24th July 2024: Index on Censorship, Human Rights Foundation and Doughty Street Chambers submit complaint to UN
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in response to Ongoing Judicial Persecution of Toomaj Salehi
– Statement of 24th September 2024: Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi: United Nations Member States urged to press Iranian President to
release him immediately
• More background about Toomaj Salehi is available on social media, at @OfficialToomaj (X) and @ToomajOfficial (Instagram). More details of the
campaign can be found using the hashtag #FreeToomaj.
• Toomaj Salehi was the winner in the arts category of Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards in 2023. More details of the award here.
30 Oct 2024 | Iran, Middle East and North Africa, News and features
Rap is not a crime. Calling for human rights and democracy is not a crime. Standing up in solidarity with the courageous women who took to the streets to protest their rights is not a crime. Yet, the fact that such basic truths need to be stated is a damning reflection of the current state of affairs in Iran. My family knows this harsh reality all too well. My cousin, the renowned rapper Toomaj Salehi, remains unjustly imprisoned.
Two years ago today, Toomaj was arrested. Due to the opaque nature of the Iranian justice system, we only know what has been communicated through the state’s propaganda channels. The Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Isfahan, Seyed Mohammad Mousavian, listed my cousin’s charges as “propaganda against the regime, cooperation with hostile states, and establishing an illegal group with the intention of disrupting national security.” Speaking to the Mizan News Agency, Mousavian added: “The accused played a key role in creating disturbances and inviting and encouraging the recent disturbances in Isfahan province and in Shahinshahr city.”
For our family, translating statements like these have become second nature. Simply put, the Islamic Republic’s power rests on inconsistency, vagaries and arbitrariness, instilling fear in the people. But voices like Toomaj, who declare “we are not afraid of you and stand with women demanding basic human rights” have shaken that foundation. They arrested him due to his influence and courage and because his music was seen as a threat. For the authorities, his prominence meant that if they could silence him, they could silence anyone.
But they underestimated my cousin.
Toomaj has always been outspoken, never backing down from telling the truth. While many Iranian artists use metaphors to cloak their criticism, Toomaj’s music speaks plainly and directly. His words shine a light on the reality that many cannot name. He always seeks to be clear and easily understood by everyone. This clarity was a reason he was popular and a reason he has been targeted.
His arrest two years ago wasn’t his first. On 13 September 2021, Toomaj was arrested at his home on charges of “insulting the Supreme Leader” and “propaganda against the regime”, following the release of his song Mouse Hole, which called out the “corporate journalist, cheap informer, court artist” who support the regime’s persecution of dissidents. He was released on bail on 21 September 2021 and one of the first things Toomaj did was record a music video, filmed outside the prison he had been held in.
Justice in Iran comes in waves – dark then light then dark – and our fight for Toomaj is no different. After his second arrest on 30 October 2022, he was sentenced to prison in July 2023. He was then released from Isfahan Central Prison on 18 November 2023 on bail, only for the darkness to return when he was rearrested less than two weeks later after he told the world about the torture and mistreatment he received.
Then in April 2024 we received the news that everyone who has a family member in prison dreads – reports that Toomaj was facing the death sentence. The light came when this was overturned by the Supreme Court but the bulb is flickering. He remains in prison facing new charges as the regime still intends to keep him imprisoned for as long as possible.
We are one of the thousands of families forced into campaigning for our loved one’s release after the brutal clampdown following the protests that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody. Many have been robbed of the hope of ever seeing their family members again as a number of protesters have been executed by the regime. At a time when women risked everything to demand their rights, Toomaj knew standing alongside them was the only right thing left to do and that his music and visibility could bring more attention to their courage. This is why the regime has been so threatened and so willing to persecute him – holding him in solitary confinement, torturing him, threatening him with the death sentence and withholding medical treatment.
Toomaj’s resilience is unshakable, fueled by his unwavering pursuit of freedom. It is this vision that gives him the strength to keep fighting, no matter the obstacles. It is now up to the international community to stand up and exert pressure on Iran to demand his immediate release. The world must not remain silent – it must speak out like my cousin did when he saw wrongdoing and injustice.
