Iran’s rappers—especially those from minority communities like the Ahwazi Arabs—remain at acute risk of systematic persecution for their art and activism, as documented by a wide array of human rights organizations, independent news agencies, and international media. Since October 2025, Iranian authorities have arrested at least five rappers and a composer, subjecting them to public “confessions” in videos circulated on social media and state-linked outlets. In these videos, detainees appear with shaved heads and visible tattoos, explicitly stigmatized and shamed. Both relatives and human rights monitors report that these acts are designed to humiliate, degrade, and intimidate, often accompanied by denial of access to legal counsel or family communication.
Abbas Daghagheleh and the Ahwazi Crackdown
Among those recently detained is Abbas Daghagheleh, a 22-year-old Arab rapper known as “Rashash.” On October 9, 2025, following Instagram posts mourning the execution of six Arab political prisoners, security forces raided Daghagheleh’s Tehran home, confiscated his music equipment, and seized control of his social media accounts. Relatives and rights groups state that Daghagheleh was beaten in custody and pressured to pledge silence on political topics before release. His music, performed in Ahvazi Arabic and chronicling poverty and discrimination facing Iran’s Arab minority, was cited by monitors as a principal reason for his targeting. This incident formed part of a broader campaign widely reported by human rights organizations: after prominent executions in Khuzestan, dozens of Ahwazi Arab activists, poets, and artists across key cities were detained, threatened, or interrogated for expressing solidarity online. In many of these cases, families were left without information on the detained’s fate, and according to human rights monitors, official charges are frequently not publicly disclosed or described only in vague national security terms.
Forced Apologies and Public Confessions as Tools of Intimidation
On the same day, rappers Danial Faraji (“Meshki”) and Amir Ardalan Aghashahi (“Dalu”) were arrested for allegedly producing “controversial works.” Both were compelled to deliver public apologies and confessions, with videos showing Faraji forced to remove his mask, denounce activism, and issue apologies that echoed official talking points. Social media accounts were reportedly commandeered by the authorities for further dissemination. The whereabouts and status of both remain unclear. Three additional musicians—Arash Sayyadi, Ashkan Shekaryan-Moghadam, and composer Rasam Sohrabi—were similarly detained by security forces in early October, with their forced confessions soon posted online. Rights groups confirm this mirrors a now-routine tactic of public shaming designed to coerce submission and suppress dissent.
From Protest Movements to Systemic Abuse
These recent episodes reflect a more general, long-standing pattern of artistic repression in Iran, intensifying since the Woman, Life, Freedom protests began in 2022. Notable protest rapper Toomaj Salehi faced repeated arrests, solitary confinement, and torture—as reported by his relatives, lawyers, and UN monitors—alongside a highly publicized death sentence, which was eventually overturned after international condemnation. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded his imprisonment violated international law, underscoring a pattern of discriminatory targeting of protest artists. Similarly, Kurdish rapper Saman Yasin has testified to regional and international media about severe torture and mock executions he endured while in custody, with his accounts corroborated by multiple NGOs and news outlets. He was eventually spared execution when his sentence was reviewed. According to regional and global rights advocates, dozens more artists and activists—especially from Iran’s minority communities—have been subjected to sham trials, bans, forced confessions, and various types of abuse.
International and National Sources Confirm Systematic Violations
These practices are reinforced by reports from Amnesty International, UN fact-finding missions, Deutsche Welle, and CNN, which consistently describe forced confessions, prolonged detention, and routine denial of due process for many Iranian artists. Ahwazi Arabs and other dissenting minorities are identified by the Washington Institute and UN Special Rapporteurs as especially vulnerable, with extrajudicial detentions and even killings frequently attributed to IRGC-linked security forces, who are almost never held accountable. Videos of confessions and apologies spread widely across both private and official online channels, further reinforcing the authorities’ narrative of “repentance.”
Legal Context and Calls for International Action
While Iranian law formally guarantees freedom of expression, monitors agree that music, poetry, or commentary critical of the government is often reframed with vague or undisclosed national security accusations. The phenomenon of broadcasting forced confessions and apologies, typically even before legal proceedings have begun, illustrates the state’s determination to make public examples out of dissenters and so suppress broader activism.
International legal experts, the United Nations, the Artists at Risk Connection, Human Rights Foundation, and Amnesty International have all demanded immediate investigations, the upholding of international prohibitions on torture, and the immediate release of imprisoned artists and writers. These organizations warn of the disastrous chilling effect on artistic freedom, political discourse, and the ability of oppressed communities to give voice to their suffering and resistance.
Art and Advocacy under Threat
In Iran, art and music carry urgent subversive power as means of survival and testimony against injustice. The silencing of rappers and poets—particularly from marginalized backgrounds—signals not only a crisis within Iran’s borders but also challenges the conscience of the international community. Unless this escalating campaign of arbitrary detention, humiliation, and intimidation is addressed, Iran risks having some of its most powerful truths remain unsung and unheard.
Sources and Attribution
This account is fully grounded in the reporting of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, IranWire, HRANA, Hengaw, Ahwaz State, the Washington Institute, Deutsche Welle, CNN, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and statements from leading NGOs including Amnesty International and the Artists at Risk Connection, among others, with explicit attribution for all contested or disputed claims.
| Name | Event Date | Event Description | Key Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abbas Daghagheleh (“Rashash”) | October 9, 2025 | Arrested after social media posts about executed Arab prisoners; reportedly beaten and pressured into silence, released after seven days | Center for Human Rights in Iran, IranWire, HRANA, Human Rights Activist News Agency |
| Danial Faraji (“Meshki”) | October 9, 2025 | Arrested alongside Rashash; forced into public apology and confession | Center for Human Rights in Iran, IranWire, Human Rights Activist News Agency, Washington Institute |
| Amir Ardalan Aghashahi (“Dalu”) | October 9, 2025 | Arrested with Faraji; forced confession, social accounts seized by authorities | Center for Human Rights in Iran, IranWire, Human Rights Activist News Agency, Washington Institute |
| Arash Sayyadi | October 3, 2025 | Detained by Security Police; forced confession published online | Center for Human Rights in Iran, IranWire, Human Rights Activist News Agency, Washington Institute |
| Ashkan Shekaryan-Moghadam | October 3, 2025 | Arrested with Sayyadi; confession published online | Center for Human Rights in Iran, IranWire, Human Rights Activist News Agency, Washington Institute |
| Rasam Sohrabi | October 3, 2025 | Composer arrested with Sayyadi and Shekaryan-Moghadam; forced confession online | Center for Human Rights in Iran, IranWire, Human Rights Activist News Agency, Washington Institute |
| Toomaj Salehi | 2022–2024 | Arrested repeatedly since 2022, sentenced to death (2023), released (2024) after international advocacy | Center for Human Rights in Iran, Deutsche Welle, UN Working Group, ARC, Amnesty International |
| Saman Yasin | Oct 2022–2023 | Arrested during Woman, Life, Freedom protests; reported torture, later released | CNN, Deutsche Welle, UN Working Group, Amnesty International |
Iran’s Artists Under Siege
Since October 2025, Iranian authorities have intensified repression against rappers and minority artists, including Ahwazi Arabs and Kurds. Detentions, forced confessions, and public apologies are being used to intimidate and silence dissenting voices.
Human rights groups, the UN, and international media confirm systematic abuses: beatings, denial of counsel, and social media seizure of activists’ accounts. The campaign underscores a wider crackdown on freedom of expression and the cultural rights of marginalized communities.
