Reactions to the Sentencing of Shervin Hajipour; Creator of the Anthem 'Woman, Life, Freedom'

Shervin Hajipour, the singer of the song 'Baraye', announced on his Instagram account on Friday, March 2, that he has been sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in prison due to the charges against him. He stated that the charges included 'propaganda against the regime and inciting people to riot' and mentioned that in addition to the prison sentence, he was also sentenced to two years of travel ban and to read books such as 'The Rights of Women in Islam', as well as to create music against America and publish it online. 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. Hamid Saidi, a musician and composer residing in Los Angeles, told Voice of America: 'The timing of this ruling, coinciding with the regime's defeat in the elections on March 2, is not a coincidence. The Islamic Republic wants to take revenge on the people by punishing Shervin and also aims to divert public attention from the disgrace of its elections.' Kaveh Yaghmaei, a singer and composer living in Canada, told Voice of America: 'My message is to the people and artists who still claim inside and outside Iran that we are not political. Today, all the demands of the freedom-seeking people of Iran pass through fundamental political changes and ultimately the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. Iranian freedom-seekers are watching our behavior as artists in these dark conditions and will judge us on the day of Iran's freedom. There is a significant difference between artists who, like Shervin, Tomaj, and others, pay the price for the freedom of the people in fear of the Islamic Republic, and those who hide from the struggle for the people under the pretext of not being political.' Arash Sobhani, a singer and composer and a colleague of Voice of America, said: 'After the 1979 revolution, we did not have a protest anthem that reflected the people's protests and belonged to this generation. The songs we had, like 'Yardebestani' or 'Aftabkaran Jangal', were from pre-revolution periods. 'Baraye' is considered the protest song of this generation, symbolizing subsequent protest works produced after it. Shervin's work was very important and is considered a brilliant piece from this perspective. This issue terrified the regime that this generation has finally found its anthem and flag and knows what it wants and is seeking.' Nazanin Boniadi, an actress and human rights activist, announced the news of Shervin Hajipour's sentencing on her social media account, stating: 'Art is a crime in the Islamic Republic. The regime is openly afraid of artists.' Mehran Aminian, a singer and musician residing in Toronto, told Voice of America: 'The Islamic Republic has a problem with art, especially protest art, and cannot tolerate such works. This government is doing everything it can to suppress protest music through violent actions against artists and to create fear to prevent similar movements, but it will no longer be able to do so.' Arash Rahbari, a producer and manager of the Tarantist music group, criticized the ruling against Shervin Hajipour, telling Voice of America: 'Issuing such rulings against artists or the arrest, torture, and killing of protesters will have no result for this corrupt regime; rather, it will make the people more determined to fight for their rights and freedom, and to strive harder for the overthrow of this regime.' The song 'Baraye', which was released amid the nationwide protests of 1401, received a warm reception 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 as the unofficial anthem of the protesters against the Iranian government, and in 1401, the jury of the 65th Grammy Awards awarded the 'Song for Social Change' award to Shervin Hajipour's song 'Baraye'. Time magazine also named Shervin Hajipour as one of the 100 most influential people of 2023. Abram Pili: The people of Iran cannot express their true voice at the ballot box. Shervin Hajipour was sentenced to prison and to create music against America. Shervin Hajipour, the singer of the protest song 'Baraye', has been summoned to court again.