Why was Toomaj Salehi in prison? Iranian rapper released months after court overturned his death sentence

Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi was released from prison following an overturned death sentence. The rapper's freedom was announced on his official Instagram account on Sunday, December 1. According to the rapper's Instagram post, Salehi was released from Isfahan Central Prison on Sunday after 753 days of "cruel" and "unjust" suffering.

The 32-year-old rapper is well known in Iran for his lyrics critical of the Iranian regime. Toomaj Salehi was jailed back in October 2022 following his support of the public demonstrations that broke out after the death of Mahsa Amini while she was in police custody. Salehi was given the death sentence in April after being charged with "corruption on earth". The sentence was overturned in June.

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Toomaj Salehi's death sentence was overturned by the Iranian Supreme Court

As mentioned earlier, Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi's successful release from prison was announced by his Instagram account with over 2.6 million followers on Sunday. A translated version of a part of the post's caption read:

"Salehi, son of Iran, was released from Dastgerd Prison today, after suffering 753 days of cruel, unjust, and unjustified re-imprisonment without any reason or documented legal support."

Protests broke out across Iran back in September 2022, after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, who lost her life under suspicious conditions whilst in police custody for allegedly sporting an improper hijab that went against the country's Islamic dress code. A United Nations fact-finding mission from March labeled the protests as one of the biggest recent threats to the country's clerical authority.

According to a report by Deadline, Toomaj Salehi was initially arrested in October 2022, after supporting the protests. The rapper is famous for dissent against the Iranian regime and its treatment of citizens in his hit songs like Mouse Hole and Turkmenchay. Al Jazeera quoted one of the rapper's YouTube music videos with over 450,000 views, in which he stated:

"Someone’s crime was dancing with her hair in the wind."

He further added in another verse:

"Your whole past is dark … Forty-four years of your government, this is the year of failure."

According to Deadline, the rapper was labeled as "one of the leaders of the riot" by Iranian pro-government media. Iran International reported that the rapper was allegedly tortured into making confessions while in custody.

Although he was initially released on bail in November 2023, he immediately released a video detailing the torture he underwent at the hands of Iranian intelligence agents.

Iran International reported that following the video, Toomaj Salehi was almost immediately re-arrested in December 2023, only days after being freed on bail. Furthermore, Deadline reported that the rapper was charged with "making false claims and spreading lies" alongside "corruption on earth". Later in April 2024, an Isfahan revolutionary court sentenced the rapper to death.

Toomaj Salehi's case attracted international attention with a plethora of people and agencies calling for his freedom including the United States’ Office of the Special Envoy for Iran. Amnesty International labeled Salehi's trial "grossly unfair", and more than 100 prominent entertainment figures including Little Mix's Jade Thirlwall, Coldplay, and Sting signed a petition for his release. Amnesty International further stated:

"Authorities dismissed his (Toomaj Salehi's) complaints of torture, including electric shocks, death threats and repeated beatings resulting in bone fractures and vision impairment in one eye."

In June 2024, the Iranian Supreme Court overturned the death penalty. Deadline reported that the court had claimed Toomaj Salehi's case was met with an "excess of legal punishment". The case was passed down to a lower court for resentencing. Later in August, Salehi's lawyer Amir Raesian stated that Salehi was free of all charges.