Iranian Lawyer Rejects New Charges Against Rapper Salehi

The lawyer of Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi has criticized the authorities over the “unlawful” rearrest of his client, saying that the new accusations against him are totally unfounded.

On November 30, Salehi was returned to jail less than two weeks after his release on bail. The judiciary’s Mizan news agency said that he is accused of “publishing false information and disturbing the public mind.”

Salehi was released from prison on November 18 after spending more than a year in custody.

In a video published after his release, he describes the torture he endured during his detention and said he had filed a complaint against Isfahan's General Intelligence Department. 

Mizan claimed that neither Salehi nor his lawyer Amir Raisian have filed any complaint.

Raisian rejected this claim, asserting that the case was sent to Branch 14 of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The lawyer also revealed that two individuals were arrested and taken to an undisclosed location along with Salehi. 

Salehi, 32, was initially arrested in October 2022 after making public statements in support of nationwide protests that had erupted the previous month.

A court sentenced him to six years and three months in prison in July on a charge of “corruption on Earth.” 

His release on bail came after the Supreme Court found “flaws in the original sentence” and sent the case back to a lower court.

The artist had spent nearly 13 months in custody, including 252 days in solitary confinement.

In his video published on November 27, Salehi says he neither admitted guilt nor cooperated with the security forces, despite the torture and other ill-treatment he endured while in custody.

"They tortured me for a prolonged time, striking me on the head and face, and even breaking my arm and leg," he says, adding that his jailers most probably injected him with adrenaline to keep him conscious in order to subject him to more torture.