Toomaj Salehi: rapper’s death sentence quashed by Iran supreme court

The rapper, convicted in connection with 2022 protests under a corruption charge often used to target activists, could still face lengthy jail term
Hugo Daniel
The Times
Toomaj Salehi had backed protesters after a young woman detained by Iran’s morality police died in custody
Toomaj Salehi had backed protesters after a young woman detained by Iran’s morality police died in custody
Hugo Daniel
The Times

A death sentence imposed on a prominent Iranian rapper who supported protests against the regime has been overturned by the country’s supreme court, his lawyer has announced.

Toomaj Salehi, 33, was sentenced to death in April for the capital offence of “corruption on Earth”, a charge often used by the Iran regime to target activists.

His songs backed protests that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police in September 2022. Amini, 22, a Kurdish-Iranian woman, had been detained for wearing an improper hijab.

Mahsa Amini died in 2022 after being arrested for allegedly violating rules requiring women to wear the headscarf. One of Salehi’s rap lyrics states: “Someone’s crime was dancing with her hair in the wind
Mahsa Amini died in 2022 after being arrested for allegedly violating rules requiring women to wear the headscarf. One of Salehi’s rap lyrics states: “Someone’s crime was dancing with her hair in the wind
SOCIAL NETWORKS/ZUMA PRESS WIRE/SHUTTERSTOCK/REX

“The death sentence of Toomaj Salehi was overturned,” Amir Raisian, Salehi’s lawyer wrote on Twitter/X, adding that the supreme court had ordered a retrial. Index on Censorship, the free speech organisation, said the court found