Toomaj Salehi, artist and protest rapper, has been released from prison after serving his sentence.
According to Kolbarnews and other reports, on Sunday, December 1, 2024, Toomaj Salehi, a protest rapper and artist, was released from Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan after completing his sentence.
On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, the first branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Isfahan had issued a death sentence for Toomaj Salehi, which was later overturned by the Supreme Court.
Lawyer Amir Raeesian wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the Supreme Court’s ruling not only annulled the death sentence but also stated that “even the previous prison sentence of six years and three months violated the legal principles of multiple offenses and exceeded the legal penalties, contrary to Article 131.” Major news agencies such as Reuters immediately reported the news of the annulment of Toomaj’s death sentence due to its significance.
On Thursday, November 30, 2023, Toomaj was arrested in a street in Babol by regime security forces without any legal warrant and was violently detained and transferred to an undisclosed location.
This artist had previously been released on bail on November 18, 2023, after enduring 252 days in solitary confinement and a total of one year and 21 days of unjust imprisonment.
Following his release, Toomaj Salehi shared a video message in which he expressed gratitude for the support of the Iranian people and spoke about his arrest, the torture he endured at the hands of intelligence agents, forced confessions, insults and defamation by regime operatives, the lack of judicial independence, and the Ministry of Intelligence’s extensive and extrajudicial powers.
On Monday, July 10, 2023, Toomaj Salehi was sentenced by the first branch of the Revolutionary Court of Isfahan to six years and three months in prison on charges of “corruption on earth.” From the date of the final verdict, he was also sentenced to a two-year ban on leaving the country, a two-year prohibition from engaging in musical activities, and a two-year mandatory participation in behavioral management and educational courses.
