Iranian rapper and activist Toomaj Salehi was released from prison more than two years after his words and support for the massive women’s rights protests that swept the country following the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini He was imprisoned and ultimately sentenced to death, his lawyers representing him said in a statement on Monday.
Salehi’s international legal team at British law firm Doughty Street Chambers welcomed his release, which was also reported by Iranian state media, in a declaration posted on their website, claiming that Salehi had been “released from prison overnight by Iranian authorities.”
“Our courageous and brilliant client Toomaj Salehi is finally free, after 753 days of imprisonment,” Caoilfhionn Gallagher, international legal advisor to Salehi’s family, said in the firm’s statement.
Doughty Street Rooms/ Toomaj Salehi
“Mr. Salehi has a long history of using his powerful art – his rap, his music, his lyrics – to support the movement. “Woman, Life, Liberty” Movement and human rights in Iran. For this, Iranian authorities have targeted him for years, attempting to silence him through arrests, imprisonment, torture, assault and even a death sentence,” Gallagher said, adding: “The world must not “Look away now: we must ensure that Mr. Salehi remains free and will never again be subjected to the flagrant violations of his rights that he has suffered over the past 753 days,” she added.
Salehi posted a photo on his Instagram account to thank his well-wishers for their support, saying: “In the last two years you have done unpredictable, beautiful and incredible things for me, I am part of you today. »
The 33-year-old rapper was arrested in October 2022 after publicly supporting the protests that erupted in the aftermath of Amini’s death. An Iranian Kurd, Amini died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly violating the radical Islamic republic’s strict rules on women’s dress.
Salehi joined other protesters in the streets and wrote a song condemning the Iranian regime for Amini’s death.
“Someone’s crime was dancing with their hair blowing in the wind. Someone’s crime was being brave and outspoken,” he said in his song “Fal,” released shortly before his arrest.
In June, the Iranian Supreme Court overturned a decision death sentence which had been handed over to Salehi by another Iranian court for “corruption on Earth”.
Iranian courts often hear cases entirely behind closed doors, with evidence produced in secret and limited rights granted to litigants. The death sentence sparked widespread international condemnation.
Iranian state media, including the Mizan media outlet controlled by the country’s judiciary, widely reported Salehi’s release. Mizan said he was released Sunday after serving a one-year sentence for acting against the government, but other charges against the rapper were still pending, and state media did not elaborate whether he could face retrials on other charges.
