ALBAWABA - After almost a year of being jailed over participating in nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in morality police custody, Iranian authorities released rapper Toomaj Salehi on bail.
In October 2022, Salehi was arrested after publicly endorsing the wave of nationwide protests that took over Iran following the tragic death of the 22-year-old Iranian-Kurd Mahsa Amini, after allegedly breaking strict dress rules for women.
The rapper was prosecuted for "crimes" that include "propagandistic activity against the government, cooperation with hostile governments, and forming illegal groups with the intention of creating insecurity in the country,".
Earlier in July, Salehi was sentenced to six years and three months in prison after being found guilty of "corruption on Earth" charges. There had been rumors that Salehi would face the death penalty due to his participation in anti-government protests last year.
In an interview with the Iranian newspaper Shargh late Saturday, Salehi's lawyer Amir Raisian said that upon appeal, the Supreme Court had found "flaws in the initial sentence” and ordered that Salehi be “released from prison today on bail".
Iranians within the country and those abroad had been advocating for his freedom in various gatherings. The international community also rallied behind the protesting rapper, with numerous organizations expressing their support.
Several political figures in Western countries took up the cause, advocating for Salehi's release, Iran International reported.
Mahsa Amini's death
Amini died after being arrested by the country's morality police for "not wearing the hijab properly" on Sept. 16, 2022, in Tehran. Amini spent 3 days in the hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead after countless attempts to save her life.
Amini came to the hospital with visible signs of torture which caused her severe damage that left her body almost paralyzed. Thousands of Iranians, mostly women, took to the streets to protest what they consider police oppression and brutality against women, compulsory hijab, and their rights in Iran.
The killing of Amini at the hands of the morality police has triggered violent protests in Tehran and many cities in the Islamic Republic as activists and women's rights advocates burnt hijabs and cut their hair in protest of compulsory hijab rule in Iran.
