Iran's Supreme Court has overturned the death sentence of Toomaj Salehi, a government critic and popular hip-hop artist known for his lyrics about the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in 2022. Salehi's lawyer Amir Raisian announced on social media that the court deemed Salehi's six-year prison term as excessive and will now review the case further.
Salehi's initial death sentence by a Revolutionary Court in Isfahan had caused confusion as it was not officially confirmed by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency or the judiciary. These courts in Iran often conduct closed-door hearings with limited rights for the accused.
The international community, including the United States and United Nations experts, criticized Salehi's sentence, viewing it as part of Tehran's crackdown on dissent following mass protests in recent years.
Salehi had been released from prison in November but was rearrested after claiming he was tortured during detention in October 2022. State media released a video showing him apologizing for his statements, likely made under duress. Subsequently, Salehi was sentenced to over six years in prison in 2023.
United Nations investigators have attributed Amini's death to Iran and highlighted the violent suppression of peaceful protests that resulted in over 500 deaths and more than 22,000 detentions.
