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Coldplay launch desperate bid to save the life of Iranian ‘Tupac Shakur’
Other artists joining the cause include Jade Thirlwall and Sting
COLDPLAY yesterday launched a desperate bid to save the life of Iran’s ‘Tupac Shakur’, who has been sentenced to death.
Chris Martin took the unusual step of speaking out about the plight of Iranian rapper and activist Toomaj Salehi.
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The Yellow singer was moved to act and has signed a protest letter calling on the Iran regime to immediately release the talented artist, who could be executed as early as May 14.
The Index on Censorship has recruited Coldplay and signatories including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who spent six years incarcerated in Iran on false spying charges.
Among 100 artists who signed the protest letter include musicians Sting, Jade Thirlwall and Damien Rice, DJ Rob da Bank, and authors Margaret Atwood and Elif Shafak.
A source told The Sun: “Coldplay are known for occasionally supporting environmental sustainability but have largely steered clear on political interventions.
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“But Chris and the gang were appalled to learn of the desperate fate of Toomaj Salehi. The band took the collective decision to speak out against the Iranian government in support of the respected rapper. It’s a new move from them but they feel deeply about it.”
Coldplay are starring at the Radio 1 Big Weekend on May 26, and headlining Glastonbury in June, but fear highlighting the rapper’s plight then may come too late for him.
The public letter follows an urgent appeal against the rapper’s execution filed via the United Nations.
Salehi’s rap music and videos have been critical of Iranian authorities.
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The letter signed by Coldplay hits out at how he has been targeted by the Iranian regime since the release of his song 'Mouse Hole' in 2021, which was highly critical of the authorities and its supporters.
It states: “Salehi’s death sentence is the culmination of three years of judicial harassment, including arrest, imprisonment and torture. No artist should be subject to any kind of judicial harassment for exercising their right to freedom of expression, much less be sentenced to death.”
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After the death of Iranian campaigner Mahsa Amini in 2022, following her arrest for improperly wearing her hijab, Salehi took part in the protests calling for justice and released multiple rap songs and videos speaking out for women’s rights.
He was arrested and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, but then released in 2023. Two weeks later he was re-arrested after recording a video in which he spoke about having been tortured in prison.
In January, he was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment – but last month the Isfahan Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death. His crime was “participating in rebelling against state”, “gathering and colluding against national security”, and “propaganda against state”.
The appeal window against the death sentence within Iran is just 20 days and the rapper could be executed any day from May 14.
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A report last month by Amnesty International found that the Iranian authorities had killed at least 853 people last year - the highest number for eight years.
International lawyers from the London-based Doughty Street Chambers are acting for Toomaj Salehi’s family and Index on Censorship.
They have submitted an urgent appeal via the UN stating that Iran is in violation of its international legal obligations, failing to respect multiple rights of Salehi’s, including his rights to life, to be free from torture, to a fair trial, and to freedom of expression.
The rapper’s cousin, Arezou Eghbali Babadi, said: “The international community must stand in solidarity with Toomaj Salehi and all those who bravely speak out against injustice and oppression in Iran.
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Jemimah Steinfeld, incoming CEO of Index on Censorship, said last night: “The scale and diversity of the signatories of this statement sends a clear message from the international cultural community that Toomaj should be released immediately.
“Toomaj is brave and brilliant and it’s incredibly humbling, to say the least, to see people unite behind him in the way that they have. Iran must take note and more so must take immediate action to free Toomaj. He has committed no crime. Even Iran’s own Supreme Court rejected a sentence of this nature. At this precarious time, without knowledge as to when the appeal will be heard, Iran must adhere to its international human rights commitments.”