Iran overturns the demise sentence of rapper Toomaj Salehi, charged in connection to 2022 protests

Iran’s Supreme Courtroom overturned the demise sentence of a authorities critic and a preferred hip-hop artist, Toomaj Salehi — who got here to fame over his lyrics in regards to the demise in police custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022 — his lawyer Amir Raisian stated Saturday.

In a submit on social media platform X, Raisian stated the courtroom assessed the case and located Salehi’s previous six years in jail as “extreme” for the reason that punishment was greater than what was allowed by legislation. He added that one other department of the courtroom will now evaluation the case.

Salehi’s demise sentence in April by a Revolutionary Courtroom within the central metropolis of Isfahan created confusion as even Iran’s state-run IRNA information company and the judiciary didn’t formally verify it. Such courts in Iran typically contain closed-door hearings with proof produced secretary and provides restricted rights to these on trial.

The information shortly drew worldwide criticism from the US and United Nations specialists, who condemned it as an indication of Tehran’s persevering with crackdown in opposition to all dissent following years of mass protests.

Salehi, 33, was arrested in October 2022 after publicly supporting demonstrations that erupted after the demise in custody of Amini, 22. Amini had been detained by Iran’s morality police for carrying her hijab too loosely, CBS Information beforehand reported. Supporters of Salehi stated his fees had been based mostly on his music and participation within the protests. 

Salehi rapped about Amini in a single video, saying: “Somebody’s crime was dancing together with her hair within the wind.” In one other verse, he predicts the downfall of Iran’s theocracy.

The Revolutionary Courtroom had accused Salehi of “help in sedition, meeting and collusion, propaganda in opposition to the system and calling for riots,” Raisian stated. 

Shortly after his launch in November 2023, Salehi was despatched to jail once more after saying in a video message that he was tortured after his detention in October 2022. State media on the time launched a video exhibiting him blindfolded and apologizing for his phrases, a press release more likely to have been made beneath duress. Later in 2023, a courtroom sentenced Salehi to greater than six years in jail.

United Nations investigators say Iran was liable for Amini’s demise, and that it violently put down largely peaceable protests in a monthslong safety crackdown that killed greater than 500 folks and noticed over 22,000 detained. 9 males have been executed in protest-related circumstances involving killing and different violence in opposition to safety forces.