Iran sentences rapper to six years for backing protests

TEHRAN, Iran - A prominent Iranian rapper who backed nationwide anti-regime protests last year, has been sentenced to more than six years in prison over charges of "corruption on earth", local media reported Monday.

Toomaj Salehi, 32, was arrested in October after expressing support for mass demonstrations triggered by the death in custody of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, Mahsa Amini. She was arrested for allegedly breaching the country's strict dress code for women.

Salehi was handed a sentence of six years and three months for "corruption on earth", one of the Islamic republic's most serious offences which carries a maximum penalty of death, his lawyer Roza Etemad-Ansari told the Daily Shargh.

She said the rapper was acquitted of charges related to "insulting the Supreme Leader", Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and "communicating with hostile governments." The rapper, who was in solitary confinement in Dastgerd prison in central Iran, was moved to the general section of the prison, the lawyer added.

Last year's protests saw hundreds of people killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands arrested in connection with what officials labelled as "riots" which they said were fomented by foreign countries after Amini's death.

Seven men have been executed in protest-related cases involving killing and other violence against security forces. - AFP