In 2023, the Iranian singer won a Grammy for the song that will now cost him his freedom.
His song has become the anthem of the Iranian protest movement. With “Baraye” – Farsi for “because,” Shervin Hajipour wrote a ballad from tweets posted after the death of Mahsa Amini. In doing so, the singer created a mouthpiece for the people who have to live under Iran’s repressive politics. In 2023 he won a Grammy for the track in the “Best Song for Social Change” category, which the US First Lady Jill Biden accepted on his behalf. And the 26-year-old now has to go to prison for this song.
Here about “Baraye”:
Apparently incited against national security
According to media reports, the musician was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison. The court justifies the detention on the grounds that Shervin Hajipour “incites people to cause unrest against national security.” The 26-year-old announced on his Instagram page that a two-year ban on leaving the country had also been imposed.
The Iranian shares an excerpt from the verdict against him on Instagram. It can be seen that his punishment came because the court found that he had not adequately expressed his regret over the publication of the song. Shortly after the publication of “Baraye” he was arrested and, presumably after intimidation, had to apologize. Apparently that wasn’t enough for justice.
Here is the excerpt from the judgment:
The musician also has to produce another song about “America’s crimes against humanity” in order to undo the damage that appears to have been done. There were initially no reports of the verdict from official Iranian authorities.