Iran overturns death sentence of rapper famous for lyrics about the death of protester Mahsa Amini

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The lawyer for one of Iran’s popular hip-hop artists and a critic of the regime Toomaj Salehi says the country’s Supreme Court has overturned his death sentence. In a post on social media platform X, Amir Raisian wrote that the court assessed the case and found Salehi’s past six years in prison “excessive” since it was more than the punishment allowed by law. He said that another branch of the court would now review the case. Salehi came to fame over his lyrics about the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022 and his criticism of Iran’s Islamic government.