- author, Yousef Taha
- role, BBC News
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The sentence of an Iranian rapper serving a death sentence for supporting anti-government protests has been overturned on appeal by the Supreme Court, his lawyer said.
Toumay Salehi was arrested in October 2022 after making public statements in support of the protests that have erupted across Iran.
Salehi’s lawyer, Amir Raessian, said the Supreme Court had ordered a retrial, saying the judges had found that Salehi’s previous sentence of six years and three months violated Iran’s provisions for multiple crimes and exceeded the statutory sentence.
Salehi, 22, was initially sentenced to life in prison in July 2023 after a Supreme Court ruling spared him the death sentence.
But the following January, a Revolutionary Court in Isfahan indicted him on new charges.
He was sentenced to death in April for the capital crime of “corruption on earth.”
The musician was also convicted of a string of other crimes, including aiding and abetting sedition, inciting rioting, conspiracy and propaganda against the state.
Index on Censorship, a campaign group that has worked with Salehi’s family to seek his release, welcomed the decision to overturn the death sentence.
But he added that “it is important that his rights are properly respected.”
Salehi’s case has been sent back to the court for resentencing. “Even a short sentence would be unjust,” Censorship Index said.
“Salehi has done nothing other than demand that his fundamental rights and those of other Iranian citizens be respected.”
Salehi was notorious for his bold criticism of Iran’s corrupt leaders and the suppression of dissent through his songs and lyrics.
He had voiced his support for the 2022 protests that were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurdish woman, in police custody.
Amini, 22, was visiting Tehran with her family when she was detained by religious police for wearing an “inappropriate” hijab.
The crackdown on protests has left hundreds dead and thousands more arrested.
Before the nationwide unrest, Salehi was already an established artist and known as an outspoken voice: He had been banned from performing in concerts, so he posted his own songs on social media.
