Jafar Panahi considers the death sentence of Tumaj Salehi to be medieval.
Jafar Panahi called the issued death sentence for Tumaj Salehi medieval and wrote, ‘It is our duty not to break the heart of the son of Iran with our inaction.’
He wrote that in a meeting he had with Tumaj after his release from prison, Tumaj said that during the first few months of his detention, he was tortured for 12 hours a day and could hear the sound of his bones breaking.
Jafar Panahi, who himself has faced condemnation, shared some of Tumaj Salehi’s protest songs on his Instagram.
Mr. Panahi wrote that in November of last year, after Tumaj Salehi had been out of prison for a few days and had come to Tehran from Isfahan for treatment, he and Mohammad Rasoulof met with him.
Jafar Panahi described how at that time, he and Mohammad Rasoulof could not bear to hear Tumaj’s words and what he had been through, but they were happy to see Tumaj Salehi sitting in front of them with his beautiful smile and being free.
The freedom that did not last long, Tumaj Salehi was re-arrested 12 days after his release on bail due to his public statements about his violent detention and torture in prison.
