Iranian Supreme Court overturns death sentence for rapper Toomaj Salehi

Published on: 06/22/2024 – 12:41Amended: 06/22/2024 – 1:48 p.m.

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“Salehi's death sentence has been overturned,” the rapper's lawyer, Amir Raisian, said in a post on X, adding that the Supreme Court had ordered a retrial.

In April, an Iranian man sentenced Salehi to death for the capital crime of “corruption on earth,” Raisian said at the time.

The rapper was also found guilty of “assisting sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the State and calling for riots,” the lawyer said.

Learn moreRap music in Iran: “Crossing the red line in politics makes you a target”

Salehi, 33, was arrested in October 2022 after publicly supporting protests that erupted a month earlier, sparked by Amini's death in police custody.

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, was arrested by morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating the Islamic republic's strict dress rules for women.

“The Supreme Court prevented an irreparable miscarriage of justice,” Raisian said, adding that the court also ruled that “Salehi's previous sentence (6 years and three months) also did not comply with the rules for a multiplicity of crimes.”

The months-long protests sparked by Amini's death saw hundreds of people killed, including dozens of security personnel.

Thousands of people were arrested as authorities worked to quell what they described as foreign-originated “riots.”

In January, another singer, Mehdi Yarrahi, who had criticized the requirement for women to wear headscarves, was sentenced to a total of two years and eight months in prison on several charges, which would have been served concurrently. .

The court later changed Yarrahi's sentence to home detention due to his health problems.

Nine men were executed in cases linked to protests involving killings and other violence against security forces.

In Iran, covering the neck and head has been obligatory since 1983, following the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Since the protests, women have increasingly flouted the strict dress code, but Iranian police have in recent months stepped up controls on women who ignore the rules.

Iranian media have reported in recent weeks that police in the capital have launched a campaign called “Noor”, the Persian word for light, in a bid to step up efforts against those who break the dress code.

To combat those violating the hijab law, authorities also closed cafes and restaurants where the hijab was not respected.

The country's parliament also approved a “Chastity and Hijab” bill which aims to toughen sanctions against women who do not respect dress rules.

(AFP)