Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi released from prison

Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi, who was previously sentenced to death, has been released after serving one year in prison, Iran's Judiciary announced on Sunday.

"The convicted individual, Toomaj Salehi, who had been sentenced to one year in prison for the crime of propaganda against the Islamic Republic, was released from prison on December 1, 2024, after serving his sentence," a statement released by the Judiciary's news agency Mizan said.

Toomaj, a metalworker from Isfahan in central Iran, emerged as a prominent figure in Iran's 2022 uprising, using his rap lyrics to condemn repression, injustice, and poverty.

During the height of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests on October 30, 2022, the intelligence ministry in Isfahan province violently arrested him again for his artistic activities in favor of the anti-government movement. While in custody, he was tortured severely and forced to make televised "confessions".

Toomaj was sentenced to 75 months in prison last July after the Iranian Supreme Court overturned the decision of a lower court sentencing the rapper to a death. More than a year after being arrested, he was released on bail in November 2023. Several days after his release, he fearlessly published a video message detailing the torture and mistreatment he had endured at the hands of regime intelligence agents. Almost immediately, he was re-arrested.

In April 2024, Salehi was sentenced to death by a revolutionary court in Isfahan on charges of "spreading corruption on Earth." Iran’s Supreme Court overturned the death sentence in June.

Toomaj's release came a few weeks after Iranian dissident journalist Kianoosh Sanjari committed suicide after warning he would take his own life unless several prisoners, including Salehi, were released.

Shortly after Sanjari's death, fellow activist Hossein Ronaghi began a hunger strike by sewing his lips shut. He vowed to continue his sit-in protests in this symbolic act until the late journalist and close friend’s demands to free political prisoners, including Toomaj, were met. From behind bars, Toomaj urged Ronaghi to end his hunger strike, pleading with him not to risk his life.