Take Action! Urge Iran to Condemn Religious Ruling to Kill Rapper

A death ruling has been issued for Iranian rapper Shahin Najafi by grand ayatollahs Safi Golpaygani and Naser Makarem Shirazi in response to Najafi’s song “Naghi” – the name of Shi’ite Islam’s 10th imam. Conservative clerics and Shia websites have called for Najafi’s killing, even offering a $100,000 reward for carrying it out. Najafi, 31, a popular Iranian musician who resides in Germany, has told reporters that he fears for his life. The issuing of fatwas by Iranian clerics has in the past yielded deadly results.
Under current laws in Iran, being labeled an “apostate” is punishable by death by the judiciary. Iranian religious leaders also issue fatwas outside the legal parameters of the law. Article 6 and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a state party, protect the right to life and freedom of expression. These international legal provisions obligate the Government of Iran to ensure that individuals within its territory do not incite murder with impunity.
Express your concern directly to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, Iran’s Judiciary Chief. Send a letter urging the Islamic Republic of Iran to condemn the fatwa that clerics have issued against Najafi and to outlaw the issuing of death rulings by religious leaders.
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