Iran Has Jailed This Singer Who Wrote The Song That Became The Anthem Of The Mahsa Amini Protests
26-year-old Shervin Hajipour’s song “Baraye” – which means “for” – lists out the various reasons that Iranian people had taken to the streets in anti-government protests after the death of Mahsa Amini.
Iran has jailed this singer who wrote the song that became the anthem of the Mahsa Amini protests.
26-year-old Shervin Hajipour was arrested in late September 2021, a day after he released the song “Baraye”.
“Baraye” – which means “for” – lists out the various reasons that Iranian people had taken to the streets in anti-government protests after the death of Amini.
The song went viral and gained more than 48 million views in less than two days. But it was taken down shortly after Hajipour’s arrest.
“Baraye” went on to become an unofficial anthem of the protests. And the line “For woman, life, and freedom”, which was featured in the song, also became a slogan of the movement.
The song even won the first ever Grammy Award for the best song for social change in February 2023.
Although Hajipour was released on bail in October 2023, he was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison on Friday March 1.
The court had found him guilty of “inciting people to cause unrest against national security” and “spreading propaganda against the regime”.
He was also ordered to produce a song addressing the “USA’s atrocities against humanity,” according to an Iranian human rights group.
Iran has executed nine people in relation to the protests, when security forces violently cracked down on protesters, killing more than 500 people and detaining more than 20,000 others.
