{"id":79949,"date":"2024-06-24T11:00:08","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T11:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/24\/dissident-rappers-death-sentence-overturned-in-iran-his-lawyer-says\/"},"modified":"2024-06-24T11:00:08","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T11:00:08","slug":"dissident-rappers-death-sentence-overturned-in-iran-his-lawyer-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/24\/dissident-rappers-death-sentence-overturned-in-iran-his-lawyer-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Dissident Rapper\u2019s Death Sentence Overturned in Iran, His Lawyer Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/24\/multimedia\/24xp-toomaj-wqgf\/24xp-toomaj-wqgf-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Dissident Rapper\u2019s Death Sentence Overturned in Iran, His Lawyer Says\" title=\"Dissident Rapper\u2019s Death Sentence Overturned in Iran, His Lawyer Says\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Iran\u2019s supreme court has overturned the death sentence of a dissident rapper who backed nationwide protests, according to his lawyer, reversing an April decision that had brought widespread criticism and outrage from human rights organizations and others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Amir Raesian, the lawyer for the rapper, Toomaj Salehi, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/amirreiis\/status\/1804451516012437908\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said in a post on X<\/a> that by overturning the sentence, the court \u201cavoided an irreparable judicial error.\u201d He added that the court found that Mr. Salehi\u2019s earlier prison sentence of six years and three months to be excessive, and that the case would be sent back to a lower court for review.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Salehi, 33, was one of the most prominent voices during the nationwide protests against Iran\u2019s clerical rulers two years ago after <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/09\/21\/world\/middleeast\/iran-protests-mahsa-amini.html\" title=\"\">the death in police custody of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini<\/a>. Ms. Amini had been arrested after the country\u2019s morality police said she had violated Iran\u2019s rules on head scarves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Salehi was arrested in October 2022 after he released music criticizing the government and encouraged his followers to participate in demonstrations touched off by the death of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/09\/16\/world\/middleeast\/mahsa-amini-iran-protests-hijab-profile.html\" title=\"\">Ms. Amini<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The next month, the Iranian authorities <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices\/iran\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">charged him<\/a> with <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/iran\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cspreading corruption on earth,<\/a>\u201d and in July 2023, a court sentenced Mr. Salehi <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/briefings\/department-press-briefing-july-10-2023\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">to more than six years<\/a> in prison after a closed-door trial. He was also banned from producing music or singing for two years, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2023-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices\/iran\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">according to a State Department document<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Iran\u2019s Supreme Court found issues with that ruling, and Mr. Salehi was released from prison in November 2023, but he was rearrested less than two weeks later and charged with \u201cpropaganda against the state,\u201d <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/press-releases\/2024\/04\/iran-un-experts-alarmed-death-sentence-imposed-rapper-and-songwriter-toomaj\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">according to U.N. experts<\/a>. Human rights groups have also said that Mr. Salehi has been tortured in prison.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After Mr. Salehi was sentenced to death in April, writers, singers and other artists signed an open letter published <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/2024\/05\/freetoomaj\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">by Index on Censorship, a group that advocates for free expression, calling for his release<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe stand in solidarity with Toomaj Salehi,\u201d the letter read. \u201cWe call for his death sentence to be immediately and unconditionally quashed and for him to be released from detention without delay, with all other charges dismissed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Center for Human Rights in Iran, an independent advocacy group based in New York, had called the death sentence a \u201cnew low in Iran\u2019s crackdown on dissent.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Iran is responsible for <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/deathpenaltyinfo.org\/news\/amnesty-international-global-report-lowest-number-of-countries-carried-out-highest-number-of-recorded-executions-in-nearly-a-decade-driven-by-iran-74-of-total\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">74 percent of all recorded executions<\/a> around the world, according to the rights group Amnesty International, which in June called for the sentence against Mr. Salehi to be repealed. \u201cFor too long, the Iranian government has been using the death penalty to instill fear in the Iranian population and tighten their grip on power,\u201d <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org.uk\/actions\/iranian-authorities-stop-toomaj-salehis-execution-now-lg#:~:text=For%20too%20long%2C%20the%20Iranian,be%20allowed%20to%20go%20on.\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">it wrote<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Helmut Brandst\u00e4tter, an Austrian lawmaker who has supported Mr. Salehi, called for the rapper\u2019s release on Sunday after the reports that the death sentence had been overturned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI have been following his fate with horror for years. He was imprisoned and tortured, just because he showed solidarity with the women in Iran,\u201d Mr. Brandst\u00e4tter <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HBrandstaetter\/status\/1804792832768487673\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said on social media<\/a>, adding: \u201cHe must be freed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/24\/world\/middleeast\/iran-rapper-toomaj-salehi.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran\u2019s supreme court has overturned the death sentence of a dissident rapper who backed nationwide protests, according to his lawyer, reversing an April decision that had brought widespread criticism and outrage from human rights organizations and others. Amir Raesian, the lawyer for the rapper, Toomaj Salehi, said in a post on X that by overturning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/24\/multimedia\/24xp-toomaj-wqgf\/24xp-toomaj-wqgf-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1860,54790,19606,6048,6635,46279,1756],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79949"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79951,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79949\/revisions\/79951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}