Rapper's death sentence overturned, retrial ordered

An Iranian rapper sentenced to death for supporting anti-government protests has been saved. The Supreme Court of Iran has ordered a retrial. The good news was reported by the man's lawyer, Amir Raesian.

The Iranian government takes a drastic approach to any form of protest. Iranian citizens have repeatedly tried to oppose the regime, but their actions have been violently suppressed. The Iranian security forces are responsible for, among other things, the death of 16-year-old Nika Shakarami, who was molested before her death. Initially, the government claimed that the teenager had committed suicide. The widespread protests that engulfed Iran in 2022 claimed many lives among the country's citizens.

Toomaj Salehi is a dissident rapper who was sentenced to death on April 24, 2024, for participating in and publicly supporting the protests of 2022. The artist expressed words of support for the actions of Iranian citizens who took to the streets after the regime caused the death of Mahsa Amini. The woman was detained by the "morality police" for improperly wearing a hijab and was then taken to a re-education centre, where she died.

The actions of Toomaj Salehi did not sit well with the Iranian government, which arrested the rapper and sent him to prison to be tortured. He was briefly released in 2023. The rapper openly talked about the loneliness and torture he experienced. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled that Salehi had committed "corruption on earth" and sentenced him to the highest penalty - death.

New reports about the rapper bring hope. His lawyer, Amir Raesian, announced that the Supreme Court had overturned the death penalty. Instead, Salehi's case will be retried. The judges determined that "the previous prison sentence of six years and three months imposed on the artist violated the principles regarding multiple offences in Iran and exceeded the allowable penalty."

International social organizations are closely monitoring Toomaj Salehi's case. In their view, any sentence is an injustice because the rapper did not break the law but merely expressed his opinion about the government's actions.