For Toomaj Salehi

Popular Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi has been sentenced to six years and three months in prison over his support for protests that rocked the country last year. Some of the charges leveled against the defiant artist carry the death penalty. Salehi was among mostly young Iranians who took to the streets last fall after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. More than 520 people have been killed in the security forces’ clampdown on the protest movement and over 19,000 have been unlawfully detained, activists say. Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.