Shervin Hajipour, singer of the protest song 'Baraye', summoned to court again

Shervin Hajipour, the singer of the protest song 'Baraye', announced on Friday, January 12, that he has been summoned to court once again. The young singer expressed concern in an Instagram post about how many times he has been summoned to court, stating: 'I don't know how long this fear and uncertainty will continue.' He emphasized that he wrote the song 'Baraye' in protest against the country's conditions, believing that 'protest is essential for evolution and that we cannot solve a problem without first identifying it.' In his note, this Grammy-winning singer described 'ordinary people' as 'victims of all the extremism of factions' and explained his view on people's rights by stating: 'I knew that we ordinary people also have the right to care for our homeland and think about its prosperity.' In the continuation of his Instagram post, Shervin Hajipour referred to his previous perceptions as 'mistaken' and considered the government's behaviors as indicative of the homeland not belonging to 'ordinary people' and the country's soil becoming 'exclusive.' He wrote: 'But now, I feel that perhaps I was mistaken. Perhaps they have also made the soil exclusive. Perhaps the homeland is not for us ordinary people, and a person without their homeland is nothing but a disposable piece of trash.' The singer concluded by announcing the release of his new song titled 'Ashghal' (Trash). Hajipour's Instagram post comes after the song 'Baraye', which was released amid widespread protests in 2022, received a warm reception from protesters in Iran. After the release of this song, Hajipour was detained for a while, and the video of this song was removed from his Instagram page. The song 'Baraye' has been introduced by the Grammy Academy as the unofficial anthem of the protesters against the Iranian government, and last year, the jury of the 65th Grammy Awards awarded the 'Song for Social Change' to Shervin Hajipour's 'Baraye'. Time magazine also named Shervin Hajipour as one of the 100 most influential people of 2023.