April 26 – The Islamic Republic in Iran sentenced Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi to death this week, following his support for the country’s nationwide anti-government protests in 2022.
Salehi became a symbol for change after writing songs supporting the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement and making public statements championing the protests. His lawyer said the rapper would be appealing the sentence.
Saman Yasin, a Kurdish rapper who was also arrested during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, was sentenced to five years in exile.
Family members of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman who died while in police custody after being arrested for failing to comply with the regime’s forced hijab laws, are still waiting for a court date, according to the family’s lawyer.
Amini’s family filed a complaint about her treatment while she was in detention and have requested an investigation into the matter.
An investigation commissioned by the United Nations found that Amini had been unlawfully killed while in detention and said the government was to blame for her death.
And Israel’s military said it hit an estimated 40 targets in Southern Lebanon as it continued its offensive against the regime’s militia groups in the region.
The fighting between Israel and the regime’s proxy groups, which has escalated in recent weeks, included the Islamic Republic-backed Hezbollah firing dozens of rockets at an Israel village on the border.
Increased fighting on Israel’s borders follows an Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the regime-backed Hamas group which led to a full-scale conflict in Gaza.
