Urgent musical protest scheduled.
Event Details:
Sunday, April 28th
2:00-4pm
Under the Marble Arch
W1C 1CX
Prominent and much-loved Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi has been sentenced to death by the ruling regime in Iran, on charges of his music “spreading corruption on earth”. The non-partisan group Woman Life Freedom-London and other activist groups have announced urgent protests scheduled for this weekend globally from Australia to Canada. British rappers MC Solomon, Logic Army and Mic Righteous, who is of Iranian heritage, join the London stage at Marble Arch to call for an end to the executions in Iran and end to diplomatic ties between the regime and the UK government.
Freedom of speech in Iran has continually been quashed with the death penalty but numbers are rising. Woman Life Freedom-London is joined by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch UK and even Rolling Stone magazine amongst others to act against and condemn these flagrant human rights violations with calls for immediate action to halt the executions, as 32 year old Salehi is joined by several others on death row.
German parliamentarian Ye-One Rhie offered to be Salehi’s political sponsor in an effort to improve his conditions during imprisonment, and prevent execution. Reportedly Salehi was tortured, kept for many months in solitary confinement and both his legs broken before a forced, state-televised confession. After his release, he was quickly rearrested.
Sunday’s protest is to urge the international community to pressure the Iranian government to end its unjust practices, and works to amplify the voices of those silenced by oppressive regimes. The three British rappers will perform their own works in support of Salehi, who is loved the world over by Iranians and the diaspora as well as the rap community who regularly post their own responses to Saleh’s videos online.
MC Solomon is founder of UK’s Asian Hip Hop Festival, while Mic Righteous, brother to a well known British-Iranian boxer, has performed on the same bill as Vivienne Westwood and had his music on official remixes with Ed Sheeran. Together with these, Logic Army whose album “True Talk” peaked at No 7 in the hip hop charts, co-founded the musical collective the People’s Army to create positive change.
“All concerned citizens, human rights activists, and members of the media are invited to join us in this critical demonstration of solidarity and support for human rights. Together, we make a difference, demanding an end to executions in Iran.” Said Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran’s (CFPPI) spokesperson and psychotherapist Shiva Mahbobi.
To find an event in your city globally see HERE
References: Amnesty – https://act.amnestyusa.org/page/133648/action/1
HRW – https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/24/iran-popular-rapper-sentenced-death-dissent
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