Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi jailed over anti-government protests

An Iranian rapper who backed anti-government protesters last year has been jailed for six years and three months, his lawyer and supporters say.

Toomaj Salehi, 32, was found guilty of "corruption on Earth" but spared execution, Roza Etemad-Ansari said.

Mr Salehi was arrested during protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested by morality police for not wearing a headscarf.

There was no immediate comment from the Iranian government.

Mr Salehi's lawyer said that his client had been cleared of "insulting the supreme leader", Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and "communicating with hostile governments."

The charge of "corruption on Earth", however, is one of the country's most serious offences covering insults against Islam and carries a possible death sentence.

The sentencing of Mr Salehi comes after months spent in solitary confinement in Dastgerd prison, in central Iran. He was subjected to a series of closed court sessions that were criticised by rights groups.

His lawyer told the Sharq newspaper that her client was transferred to the general section of the prison following his sentencing - news that was confirmed by a supporter running Mr Salehi's Instagram page.

The rapper also shared clips of his songs supporting the movement.

Human rights activists said hundreds of people were killed and thousands arrested for "rioting" in the demonstrations that spread across the country, which the regime said was fomented by foreign agents.

Seven men have been executed in protest-related cases, the AFP news agency reports.

In an interview with CBC News days before his arrest, Mr Salehi said posting videos critical of the regime was "hard, because you are making yourself a target for the regime forces".

He said that those in power were a "mafia that is ready to kill the entire nation... in order to keep its power, money and weapons".

The rapper was first arrested in September 2021, after his songs about corruption, poverty, executions and violence against protesters went viral. He was released on bail after a week, amid widespread condemnation of his arrest.