Iranian pop singer Shervin Hajipour appeared in a video for the first time since his release on Sunday after being arrested for posting a song in support of protests that have rocked Iran since mid-September.
Iranian American musician Rana Mansour beautifully performs Shervin Hajipour’s song “for…” in English. A song that has become the anthem of solidarity in Iran and has moved many around the world. #MahsaAmini #مهسا_امینی #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/AnTjBo8ovm
— Omid Memarian (@Omid_M) October 8, 2022
Iran has been the scene of protests since the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, after she was arrested in Tehran by vice police who accused her of breaking Iran’s strict dress code, which in particular obliges women to cover their hair in public.
To support the protest movement, Shervin Hajipour, 25, composed a song titled Baraye (“For” or “Because of” in Persian), compiling tweets about protesters’ demands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrvpRb2jY1M
The song had reached nearly 40 million views on the artist’s Instagram page, before being deleted when the singer was arrested by authorities in the north of the country.
In a first video appearance since being released on bail on Tuesday, shervin Hajipour said on Sunday that he “lives in Iran” and wish “stay there and sing”.
“If I want to say something, or criticize, I would like to do it here”he added in this video posted on Instagram. “It is clear that I created this work to express my sympathy to people who criticized the situation of society” in Iran, he added, specifying that he had no connection “with a movement or organizations” abroad.
“I would like to see the authorities, especially in these conditions, have a parent-child approach towards people who are in similar situations to me”added the singer, without further details.
Shervin Hajipour began his musical career after participating in 2019 in the show Asré Jadid (“new era” in Persian), a singing competition broadcast on Iranian state television.
Dozens of people, mainly demonstrators but also members of the security forces, have been killed since September 16 during rallies described as “riots” by the authorities, while hundreds of others have been arrested.