They had beaten him up so much that he was injured in all the photos they published of him after arrest.
He is Majidreza Rahnavard, an innocent peaceful protester in Iran, who seeks for basic human rights. While the world is watching football, he is sentenced to death after being arrested and tortured by the Islamic Republic.
MajidrezaRahnavard is accused of killing two Basij in Iran.
In another news, The family of an Iranian dissident rapper is fearful for his life, saying the regime is trying to charge him with a crime that carries the death penalty.
Toomaj Salehi, 32, has heavily criticized the Islamic Republic through his lyrics and was arrested last month amid the ongoing protests and violent crackdowns in the country. The underground rapper, known by his first name, was also actively supporting the protests in Iran, releasing music, sending messages of support and even showing up on the streets himself.
Toomaj's cousin, Azadeh Babadi, who is based in London, told CBC News she believes the rapper will not receive due process.
Babadi said the family believes the judiciary plans to charge Toomaj with being a mohareb — meaning someone who "wages war against God." These are charges that under Iran's Islamic Sharia law result in a death sentence and subsequent execution.
The regime in Iran has a long history of accusing dissidents of being "moharebs," said Toronto-based lawyer and human rights activist Kaveh Shahrooz.
"Such a charge, and the fact that it carries a penalty of death, is hard to comprehend for many Westerners, because it seems so medieval. And it is. It speaks to the fact that Iran's regime has a mindset belonging to the dark ages," Shahrooz said.
In an interview last month with CBC News, however, Toomaj maintained that the people should continue to resist peacefully until they reach millions.
The Islamic Republic has been gripped by nationwide protests since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16 in the custody of the so-called morality police.
At least six people connected to the protests have been sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) said in a news release Tuesday. Last week, Amnesty International reported that Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 21 people involved with the protests — including Saman Seydi, a Kurdish rapper.
While those are official death sentences, the Islamic Republic previously cracked down on anti-regime protesters in 2019, killing 1,500 in less than two weeks in what has become known now as "Bloody November."
Toomaj used his social media influence to encourage protesters not to give up the streets and join strikes to topple the regime, although he had already been arrested once before. He also taught them ways to circumvent internet censorship. He was never allowed to release his music in Iran or hold concerts and connected with his fans only through online platforms such as YouTube.
Official Toomaj , the Twitter account which is now run by an administrator based outside Iran, refuted the claim saying he was arrested in his home province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province which is not anywhere near the border areas.
“We will come to the streets, every day and night, until Iran is freed. The streets are ours, we will take them back from you,” Official Toomaj defiantly quoted one of his songs in a tweet after his arrest.
Toomaj’s London-based cousin Azadeh Babadi told Iran International Monday that the family have found out he is being severely tortured to denounce the youth movement against the clerical rule.
“He knew he would be arrested but refused to leave the country,” Babadi said via video link, adding that she had warned him about his safety in Iran and offered to help him get a visa to join her in London. The family want all Iranians to know that Toomaj believes they can only succeed in restoring the rights denied to them by remaining on the streets and continuing the protests to bring the regime down, she said.
"We will rise from the bottom and target the top of the pyramid,” Toomaj’s latest song released last week says and promises protesters’ victory over the Islamic Republic.
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