Iranian rapper to be jailed for six years, avoiding death sentence: Reports

 Toomaj Salehi, an Iranian hip hop artist or rapper mostly known for his protest songs against the policies of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has avoided a death sentence and been jailed for six years and three months, according to reports.

Toomaj Salehi supported the protest movement last year. His lawyer confirmed that he avoided the death sentence. 

The Iranian rapper had supported a nationwide protest sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman, who was jailed for wearing "inappropriate attire". The rapper supported the movement online and in his songs.

The Iranian rapper was convicted of "corruption on earth," a broad category of charges that includes violations of Islamic morality and carries the death penalty.

Rosa Etemad Ansari, the lawyer of Toomaj Salehi, said that the rapper had been acquitted of insulting the Supreme Leader of Iran and cooperating with hostile governments. He confirmed that the rapper had been moved out of solitary confinement into the general section of his prison.

In November last year, Iranian media aired a video of the Iranian rapper in custody, in which he was blindfolded and apologized for past critical comments about the Iranian authorities.

Toomaj Salehi is well-known for openly criticizing the Iranian regime through his lyrics. He has hundreds of thousands of online fans. The Iranian rapper has been in prison for around eight months. 

Recently, Jonathan Wilkinson, the Minister of Natural Resources of Canada, signed a letter voicing his support for the Iranian rapper. He demanded a moratorium on executions in Iran. 

A German politician, Ye-One Rhie, also said, "As far as we know, he is innocent. Every day that he is in prison is very unfair. It's not lawful."

She said that she was relieved after finding out that Salehi would face a prison sentence rather than execution.