Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi Risks Death Penalty

 People hold placards bearing portraits of Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi (R), who is arrested in Iran, during a rally in support of Iranian women in Istanbul on November 26, 2022. (AFP)
People hold placards bearing portraits of Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi (R), who is arrested in Iran, during a rally in support of Iranian women in Istanbul on November 26, 2022. (AFP)
TT

Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi Risks Death Penalty

 People hold placards bearing portraits of Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi (R), who is arrested in Iran, during a rally in support of Iranian women in Istanbul on November 26, 2022. (AFP)
People hold placards bearing portraits of Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi (R), who is arrested in Iran, during a rally in support of Iranian women in Istanbul on November 26, 2022. (AFP)

The family of an Iranian rapper detained for supporting protests over Mahsa Amini's death said his life was at risk after he went on trial behind closed doors on Saturday.

Iran has intensified a crackdown on the protests sparked by the September 16 death of Amini after her arrest in Tehran for allegedly breaching the country's strict dress code for women.

Toomaj Salehi, well known on Iran's rap scene, was arrested late last month after denouncing the regime and showing support for the protests, human rights groups said.

“Dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi had the first day of his so-called ‘trial’ on Saturday in Tehran without a lawyer of his choice,” the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said on Twitter.

His family tweeted that his “life is at serious risk right now” as he faced charges of “enmity against God” and “corruption on earth” -- sharia-related charges that are capital crimes in Tehran.

Salehi had disappeared at the end of October before appearing in a video published on November 2 by Iran’s state-run media.

The video claimed to show the first images of Salehi after his arrest.

It depicted a blindfold man who introduced himself as Toomaj Salehi and said he made a mistake, AFP reported.

Activists condemned the recording as a forced confession extracted under duress.

Salehi is one of a number of prominent figures to be arrested in a mass crackdown that has seen dozens of journalists, lawyers, civil society and cultural figures arrested.

His detention came shortly after he gave an interview highly critical of the regime to the Canadian Broadcasting Cooperation (CNN).

“You are dealing with a mafia that is ready to kill the entire nation... in order to keep its power, money and weapons,” Salehi said in the interview.

Iranian state media claim Salehi was arrested while trying to cross one of the country’s western borders, but his family have denied this saying he was in the southwestern province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari at the time.



Biden after Trump’s Election Win: Setbacks Are Unavoidable

US President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, November 7, 2024, after Donald Trump won the presidential election. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
US President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, November 7, 2024, after Donald Trump won the presidential election. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
TT

Biden after Trump’s Election Win: Setbacks Are Unavoidable

US President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, November 7, 2024, after Donald Trump won the presidential election. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
US President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, November 7, 2024, after Donald Trump won the presidential election. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Seeking to console fellow Democrats, US President Joe Biden delivered remarks to the nation Thursday in what was his first appearance on camera following Republican Donald Trump’s decisive victory.

"Setbacks are unavoidable. Giving up is unforgiveable," Biden said at the White House Rose Garden as he addressed staff who were disappointed in Vice President Kamala Harris' defeat. "A defeat does not mean we are defeated."

Biden said Tuesday's election had proven the integrity of the US electoral system and said he would preside over an orderly transfer of power.

"We lost this battle. The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up," he said.

The president reiterated that the US election system “is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent. And it can be trusted, win or lose.”

“America endures,” he said. “We’re going to be ok, but we need to stay engaged.”

Some Democrats have blamed Biden, 81, for Harris' defeat, saying he should not have sought reelection. Biden only dropped his reelection bid in July after a disastrous TV debate with Trump raised alarm bells about his mental fitness.
Trump's campaign said Biden had invited him to meet at the White House at an unspecified time. In the weeks ahead, Trump will select personnel to serve under his leadership.