An Iranian rapper, Toomaj Salehi, who faced a death sentence for supporting anti-government protests, has been released after two years in prison.
Salehi was arrested in October 2022 for publicly backing nationwide demonstrations that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.
Iran’s judiciary-run Mizan news agency reported that his death sentence, overturned in June, was replaced by a one-year term for spreading propaganda against the state.
The 34-year-old artist, known for his outspoken criticism of Iran’s leadership in his music, had already been banned from performing live before his arrest.
Initially sentenced to over six years in prison in July 2023, Salehi avoided execution due to a Supreme Court decision. He was briefly freed on bail but rearrested after posting a video alleging torture by intelligence agents.
In April 2024, he was sentenced to death for “corruption on earth,” but this was ultimately revoked.
The rapper had been charged with a string of offences, including spreading lies in cyberspace, disruption of public order and propaganda against the establishment.
Index on Censorship, a campaign group that had been working to free the rapper, welcomed his release and said Mr Salehi “should never have been imprisoned to begin with”.
Salehi’s arrest occurred during the peak of nationwide protests ignited by the death of Mahsa Amini.
Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, was detained by the morality police in Tehran for allegedly wearing an “improper” hijab while visiting the city with her family.
The ensuing unrest saw hundreds killed and thousands arrested as protests spread across the country.