Toumaj Salehi Acquitted of 'Corruption on Earth' Charges but Remains in Prison

Toumaj Salehi's lawyer, a jailed rapper critical of the government, announced that this protesting artist has been acquitted of the charge of 'corruption on earth' and a decision has been made to halt prosecution on other charges. However, Salehi remains in prison due to a new case formed regarding one of his songs. Amir Reisiyaan stated on Wednesday, August 15, in an interview with 'Shargh Network' that Salehi's acquittal from the charge of 'corruption on earth' by Branch 5 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court means the annulment of the death sentence issued against him. According to this lawyer, based on the Supreme Court's rulings regarding the inclusion of Salehi's charges in the announced amnesty in 2022, Branch 5 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court has issued a decision to halt prosecution for the charges of 'inciting and provoking people to war and murder', 'insulting the leadership', 'propaganda against the regime', and 'gathering and colluding against security'. The hearing for Salehi's 2022 protest case was held on August 12 in Branch 5 of the Isfahan Islamic Revolutionary Court. Amir Reisiyaan noted that the case regarding two charges of 'spreading false information online' and 'disturbing public order' has been referred to Criminal Court 2, predicting that, given the Supreme Court's ruling and the announced amnesty directive, a decision to halt prosecution will also be issued for these charges. Meanwhile, according to this lawyer, a new case regarding one of Salehi's songs and the accusations of 'insulting sacred values' and 'calling for chaos and riots' against this critical artist has led to his continued imprisonment. Amir Reisiyaan mentioned that Salehi's lawyers have not yet been allowed to access this new case. A page attributed to Toumaj Salehi on the social media platform 'X' criticized the ongoing 'illegal detention' of this protesting rapper due to new accusations related to the song 'Typhus' and called for the conversion of his detention order to bail. According to this report, the 'fabricated charges' related to the song 'Typhus' by Toumaj Salehi were 'prepared, recorded, and broadcast in previous years and were re-arranged and re-published by Salehi's friends last winter due to recent events and occurrences in Persian rap.' Previously, Yi Wan Ri, Salehi's political sponsor, described the new charges against this protesting singer as a sign of the 'Iranian regime's fear' of Salehi and the Iranian people and announced the continuation of the struggle for Salehi's freedom. Amnesty International also recommended to Iranian authorities in July this year to 'immediately and unconditionally' release this imprisoned rapper instead of prolonging the legal proceedings against him. Toumaj Salehi was arrested on October 30, 2022, during the nationwide protests of 'Women, Life, Freedom' and was sent to prison. He was released on bail a year later but was re-arrested a few days later on December 3, 2023. The first branch of the Isfahan Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced this protesting singer to death on April 19, 2023, for 'gathering and colluding, and complicity in rebellion'. This sentence was later annulled by the Supreme Court. Abram Pili, the Deputy Special Representative of the U.S. State Department for Iran, described this action as the Iranian regime's 'pretense of flexibility' aimed at 'misleading the world' and a judicial trick by the 'Iranian regime' to 'silence dissenters'.