The death sentence handed down in Iran against the politically engaged Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi is unacceptable. France vigorously condemns this decision, which comes on top of many other death sentences and unjustifiable executions linked to the fall 2022 protests in Iran.
France has repeatedly denounced them publicly and directly to the Iranian authorities and in conjunction with its EU partners. The EU adopted sanctions against those responsible for the violent crackdown in Iran, which violates that country's international human rights obligations.
France reaffirms its steadfast opposition to the death penalty everywhere and in all circumstances, and its commitment to the universal abolition of this unjust, inhumane punishment. We repeat that death sentences and executions of participants in the demonstrations, added to the Iranian authorities' many other serious and unacceptable violations of fundamental rights and liberties, cannot stand as a response to the Iranian people's legitimate aspirations for freedom.