Iranian authorities have sentenced rapper Toomaj Salehi to more than six years in prison, his lawyer said on Monday.
The decision comes 10 months after anti-regime protests broke out across Iran in the biggest challenge to Tehran's rule in decades.
The musician, 33, was convicted of moharebeh (emnity against God), a charge that often carries the death sentence. He was acquitted of several other charges, including insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his lawyer Rosa Etemad Ansari told Iranian newspaper Shargh.
There was no immediate comment from Iran's judiciary.
Salehi's large fan base has long voiced concerns that he will be executed. Several protesters have been sentenced to death for joining the widespread rallies after the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody last year.
The rapper has been banned from making music for two years after his release, his lawyer added, and will not be allowed to leave the country during that period.
Salehi has been outspoken in his support for protesters who were gunned down in their hundreds as security forces clamped down on anti-regime demonstrations. More than 500 people were killed and almost 20,000 detained, human rights groups claim.
He was arrested in October at the height of protests. Authorities said he was arrested while trying to flee the country, claims his supporters and friends denied.
“Someone's crime was dancing with her hair in the wind,” he raps in a video with more than 450,000 views on YouTube – an apparent reference to Ms Amini, who was arrested after wearing her hijab "inappropriately".
" Forty-four years of your government, this is the year of failure," he says in another verse.
'Extreme risks'
In November, Iranian authorities released footage of a blindfolded Salehi appearing to renounce his previous comments but under duress.
His lawyers said he was allowed to meet them for only half an hour throughout eight months in detention.
It is not the first time the dissident rapper has been arrested over voicing criticism of Tehran. In September 2021 he was arrested and held for eight days over his politically charged lyrics.
“Toomaj rapped about political and social issues that Iranian authorities have long tried to conceal from domestic and foreign audiences to ward off criticism of their repressive policies,” Hadi Ghaemi, head of the Centre for Human Rights in Iran, said in April.
“Toomaj took extreme personal risks by further exposing issues that the state wants to hide, like child labour and political repression, through his art.”
Seven people have been executed in connection with the protests, convicted of moharebeh and killing security officers in trials described by the UN and human rights groups as sham.
While protests have largely waned, regular demonstrations are still held in the southern city of Zahedan, scene of a vicious crackdown by Iranian security officers.
At least 354 people have been executed in the first six months of this year, making Iran one of the world's leading executioners, a tally from Iran Human Rights indicates.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
INDIA SQUADS
India squad for third Test against Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar
India squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
HOW TO WATCH
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