Iran overturns the death sentence of rapper Toomaj Salehi, charged in connection to 2022 protests

Iran's Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of a government critic and a popular hip-hop artist, Toomaj Salehi — who came to fame over his lyrics about the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022 — his lawyer Amir Raisian said Saturday.

In a post on social media platform X, Raisian said the court assessed the case and found Salehi's past six years in prison as "excessive" since the punishment was more than what was allowed by law. He added that another branch of the court will now review the case.

Salehi's death sentence in April by a Revolutionary Court in the central city of Isfahan created confusion as even Iran's state-run IRNA news agency and the judiciary did not formally confirm it. Such courts in Iran often involve closed-door hearings with evidence produced secretary and give limited rights to those on trial.