Iran: Rapper wins appeal against protest-related death sentence

The Iranian Supreme Court ruled in favor of an Iranian rapper’s appeal against his death sentence related to the ongoing protests. However, the high court rejected the appeal of another, upholding their execution.

On Saturday, the Iranian Supreme Court accepted the appeal of Iranian rapper Saman Seyyedi, also known as Saman Yasin, according to the judiciary. The appeal cited flaws in the investigation of the case but did not cite specific details.

Seyyedi was convicted by an Iranian court over “waging war against God” by supporting the ongoing protests online and writing protest songs. Seyyedi was accused of attempting to kill security forces and opening fire in the air with a handgun during the protests that the authorities have been referring to as “riots.”

This follows last week’s reports that Seyyedi survived after trying to commit suicide in prison in the midst of reports that the rapper may be up for execution. Iranian officials did not confirm the reports.

Aside from Seyyedi, Mohammad Ghobadlou also succeeded in his appeal against his own death sentence, according to the judiciary. However, later in the day, Ghobadlou’s appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court after getting convicted of “corruption on Earth” for allegedly running over and killing a member of the security forces and injuring others.

Rights group Amnesty International has since called on the authorities to immediately quash Ghobadlou’s death sentence, issued less than two months after he was detained on September 22 in an “unfair sham trial.” The rights group has warned that two dozen more people are set to be put to death over protest-related charges.

Authorities have since executed two people in relation to the protests that erupted in September after the death of Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini. Amini died days after she was detained by the morality police for allegedly flouting the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code imposed on women. Tehran has blamed its enemies, such as the United States, for fomenting the unrest.

The executions have also resulted in sanctions from the West. The Treasury Department announced penalties targeting several Iranian officials, including the country’s prosecutor general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri.