Protests by Iranian Artists Abroad Against the Imprisonment of Shervin Hajipour

A number of Iranian music artists abroad have issued a statement on their social media accounts protesting the enforcement of a "inhumane sentence" of three years and eight months in prison for Shervin Hajipour, an Iranian protest singer. This message, titled "An Artist Does Not Belong in Prison," has been shared by notable figures such as Mandana Khodadadi, Rana Mansour, Mojgan Shajarian, Niloufar Farzandshad, Babak Amini, Rostam Mirlashari, Kaveh Yaghmaei, Arash Sobhani, Ali Azimi, and Mehran Aminian. According to these artists, the enforcement of the "inhumane sentence" against Shervin Hajipour, a Grammy Award winner and prominent singer of the song "Baraye," is the latest attempt by the Islamic Republic to eliminate music and freedom of expression. They, identifying themselves as "a group of Iranian musicians in exile," condemned the "reactionary sentence" against Hajipour, the imprisonment and work bans on other colleagues like Saman Yasin, and the ongoing discrimination against women artists. They called on the international community and musicians from other countries to condemn these crimes against freedom of expression and to join them in pressuring the Iranian government for the release of artists and the annulment of such sentences. The statement concluded with: "For freedom of expression, for music, and for Shervin Hajipour." Mehran Aminian, a singer and composer residing in Toronto, Canada, is one of the artists who shared this statement on his social media account. He told Voice of America that, "We believe the Islamic Republic has been waging an all-out war against artists and their works for years, but for some reason, they are dealing with Shervin Hajipour so harshly." He added that the release of the song "Baraye" during the nationwide protests in Iran and the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement led to a broad solidarity and unity among Iranians inside and outside the country, transcending religious beliefs, political inclinations, and borders. Aminian further stated, "It is natural that the Islamic Republic tries to show its power as much as it can, although this display of power is hollow, and it is disgusted by the unity created through this song and is retaliating against Shervin Hajipour, the creator of this work." Recently, Shervin Hajipour announced that he must report to prison in a few days to serve his sentence of three years and eight months related to the production of the song "Baraye." In a post on his Instagram page, he mentioned that he received a notice to report to prison, stating that his charge was "inciting people to murder and war," and he questioned, "Which line of the song incited people to murder?" He expressed hope that his prison sentence would be overturned in the appeals court, but this did not happen, and he is now trying to seek a retrial and pursue other possible legal avenues to avoid going to prison. Hajipour pointed out that with the release of "Baraye," he expressed his criticism in the most "peaceful" and "civil" manner possible.