American PEN Association Protests the Conviction of Shervin Hajipour; Iranian Government Fears the Empowering Power of Music

On Friday, March 2, the American PEN Association issued a statement protesting the conviction of Shervin Hajipour, the singer of the song "Baraye," and called on the Islamic Republic to revoke this sentence and all charges against this young artist. Shervin Hajipour announced on his Instagram account that he had been sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in prison due to the charges brought against him. The statement, prepared by the "Artists at Risk" (ARC) group, stated that "the conviction of Shervin Hajipour is another horrific attempt to suppress independent voices that lead the Iranian people's demands for basic freedoms." Julie Turbo, the director of this group, said: "The Iranian government is trying to silence a powerful movement led by musicians who believe in freedom and women's rights. The Iranian government fears the power of music to inspire hope in citizens and to inspire the desire for a better and more just future for all." In the statement, Shervin Hajipour is identified as a serious supporter of the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement, whose song "Baraye" gained significant popularity during the nationwide protests of 2022, with its video receiving millions of views on social media. The statement further mentions that many Iranian artists and writers have been prosecuted for participating in or supporting the nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic following the death of Mahsa Amini in custody last year. Tomaj Salehi, Saman Yasin, Vafa Ahmadpour, and Mehdi Yaraei are among these artists active in music. According to the American PEN Association, Iran was the second-largest prison for writers in the world in 2022. The "Artists at Risk" (ARC) group is a project of the American PEN Association aimed at helping artists at risk and strengthening the networks and organizations that support them. Hamid Saidi, a musician, composer, and Grammy Award winner residing in Los Angeles, is among the artists who reacted to Shervin Hajipour's conviction. He told Voice of America: "The announcement and enforcement of such sentences show the anger and desperation of the government in the face of a large segment of society. Shervin is the voice of the majority of Iranians, both those inside and those living abroad; he is the artist of Iranians worldwide who say no to this regime and government." Hamid Saidi stated that the Islamic Republic wants to punish the people with Shervin's conviction, prevent more artists from joining the protest art movement, and with such sentences, it tries to silence artists who are active in protest music. He further noted that Shervin Hajipour did not express remorse or regret, which has been very heavy for the government. Shervin Hajipour, by publishing the court ruling on Instagram, declared the charges against him as "propaganda against the regime and inciting people to riot" and wrote that in addition to 3 years and 8 months in prison, he was sentenced to two years of travel ban and reading books such as "The Rights of Women in Islam" and making music against America and publishing it on social media. The announcement of this news was met with widespread reactions on social media, with many Iranian users supporting Shervin Hajipour and strongly criticizing the Islamic Republic. The song "Baraye," released amid the nationwide protests of 2022, received public acclaim from protesters in Iran. After the release of this song, Shervin Hajipour was imprisoned and spent some time in detention, and the video of this song was also deleted from his Instagram page. Nevertheless, the song "Baraye" was introduced by the Grammy Academy website as the unofficial anthem of the protesters against the Iranian government, and in 2022, the jury of the 65th Grammy Awards awarded the "Song for Social Change" to Shervin Hajipour's song "Baraye." Time magazine also named Shervin Hajipour as one of the 100 most influential people of 2023. This report utilized the statement from the American PEN Association and previous materials from Voice of America.