Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi has his death sentence overturned and faces retrial

Toomaj Salehi, the Iranian dissident rapper sentenced to death in April for releasing music critical of the country's government, had his sentence overturned on Saturday and will face a new trial.

Salehi's lawyer, Amir Raesian, wrote on social media (via the Guardian), “As expected, the Supreme Court avoided an irreparable miscarriage of justice” and that the Supreme Court “reiterated that even the previous prison sentence (6 years and three months) did not comply with the rules of multiplicity of crimes… and is in excess of the legal penalty.

Salehi was arrested in October 2022 amid the uprising sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who was arrested by Iranian morality police and later died while in custody. Salehi was ultimately charged with “spreading corruption on earth,” an offense punishable by death, for playing music critical of the government and urging his supporters to join protests.

After his arrest, allegations emerged that Salehi was being held in solitary confinement and tortured, with UN experts saying he had a broken nose, several broken fingers and damaged legs. Concerns were also raised that his hearings were held behind closed doors, without his lawyer present.

In April, Salehi, 33, was sentenced to death by hanging, which his lawyers at the time promised to appeal.

The death sentence drew sharp rebukes from various governments and advocacy groups, as well as artists like Coldplay and Sting. The office of the American envoy to Iran said“We strongly condemn the death sentence of Toomaj Salehi”, while referring to the five-year prison sentence handed down to another artist, the Kurdish-Iranian rapper Saman Yasin.

Following the Iranian Supreme Court's decision, the Index on Censorship, the Human Rights Foundation and Salehi's international legal team said in a statement: “While the Supreme Court's decision constitutes an important correction to the cruel treatment and illegal infliction on Mr. Salehi, it is essential that his rights are respected. duly respected. »

The statement continued: “Mr. Salehi’s case has been referred to the First Branch of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court for re-sentencing. Even a shorter period of imprisonment would be an injustice: Mr. Salehi has done nothing other than call for respect for his fundamental rights and those of other Iranians. He must be free to continue his music and seek necessary medical care after his imprisonment, free from continued imprisonment, harassment or persecution.