Dissident Iranian rapper sentenced to death arrives in Germany

A Iranian dissident rapper arrived in Berlin on Friday after being temporarily released on medical furlough from a prison in Tehran, where he was previously sentenced to death.

" Woman, Life, Freedom forever," Saman Yasin wrote in a post on X, sharing a video of his arrival in Berlin airport, without providing further details of how he had left Iran.

Yasin was arrested in October 2022 amid Iran's Woman, Life, Freedom nationwide protest movement sparked by the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in morality police custody.

Yasin was initially sentenced to death on charges including "enmity against God, assembly and collusion to act against national security."

However, his death sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court in April last year. He was later sentenced to serve five years in prison in exile in Kerman province in southeastern Iran.

In July 2023, a source close to Yasin's family told Iran International that Saman was tortured and subjected to forced confessions during interrogations.

In October of last year, Saman Yasin was temporarily released from Tehran's Ghezel Hesar Prison on medical furlough after posting a bail of 40 billion rials (just over $50,000), according to his lawyer.

"My client, Saman Yasin, has been released on medical leave today after spending approximately 26 months in prison," his lawyer said. "This decision was made following a medical commission’s recommendation and with judicial approval, after securing bail."

Many Iranian dissidents have sought refuge in Europe following the protests, including acclaimed filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof. Rasoulof left Iran on foot, crossing the rugged mountainous border into Iraq to escape an eight-year prison sentence imposed for his film about the 2022 uprising.

Yasin, along with dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi—who was also sentenced to death but later released on bail—and Behrad Ali Konari, were among several rappers detained in connection with the uprising.