A lawyer for an Iranian rapper sentenced to death for supporting anti-government protests says the Supreme Court has overturned his sentence on appeal.
Toomaj Salehi was arrested in October 2022 after making public statements in support of the protests that broke out across Iran.
His lawyer Amir Raesian said the Supreme Court has now ordered a retrial, with judges finding Salehi’s previous six years and three months in prison violated Iran’s multiple crime rules and exceeded the statutory penalty.
Salehi, 22, was initially sentenced to prison in July 2023 after avoiding the death penalty due to a Supreme Court ruling.
But in January of the following year, the Revolutionary Court of Isfahan City brought new charges against him.
In April this year, he was sentenced to death for “human corruption”.
The musician was also found guilty of a range of other offences, including aiding sedition, incitement to riot, collusion and propaganda against the state.
Salehi gained notoriety through his songs and lyrics for boldly criticizing Iran’s leaders for their corruption and crackdown on dissent.
He expressed support for the 2022 protests, which were sparked by the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman. Massa Aminiwas detained by the police.
Amini, 22, was detained by religious police for allegedly wearing an “inappropriate” hijab while visiting Tehran with her family.
The crackdown on the protests resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests.
Before the nationwide unrest, Salehi was already a well-known artist and known as an outspoken figure. Since he was banned from performing at concerts, he released his song on social media.
