Iranian Rap Artist's Death Sentence Overturned Amid Global Criticism

The death sentence against an Iranian rap artist whose case has drawn global criticism has been overturned.

In a pair of updates shared to Twitter over the weekend, Amir Raesian, a lawyer for 33-year-old Toomaj Salehi, said his client’s case is being referred to a "parallel branch for consideration" following the overturned sentence. In fact, per Raesian, the rapper’s previous six-year prison sentence has also been determined by the country's Supreme Court to have been "in excess of legal punishment."

In July of last year, it was reported by the Associated Press and elsewhere that Toomaj had been sentenced to just over six years behind bars in connection with protests in the region spurred by the death of Mahsa Amini. The woman, 22, died under suspicious circumstances in 2022, with ensuing protests organized under the rallying cry of "Woman, Life, Freedom." In one of his songs, Toomaj appeared to reference Amini's death, albeit without mentioning her by name.

By April of this year, Raesian had revealed that his client was facing a death sentence. One month later, the TOOMAJ Act was introduced by American lawmakers including Young Kim, Adam Schiff, and more. The bill, available to read in full here, calls for sanctions to be imposed by the U.S. against "the judges, prosecutors, and investigators" of the Islamic Revolutionary Court.

Fellow artists have also spoken out about Toomaj’s case, including Coldplay and Sting. The Chris Martin-led band and former The Police frontman were among those who threw their weight behind an open letter calling for Toomaj’s death sentence to be "immediately and unconditionally quashed" last month.

More recently, Toomaj was honored with the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent award by the Human Rights Foundation.