Since Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd died on September 16 after her arrest in Tehran by the morality police, young people have been demonstrating. On social networks, the singer had composed the anthem of this feminist revolt.
Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour, arrested after his song in support of the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini went viral, was released on bail on Tuesday, a local prosecutor said.
Iran has been the scene of protests since Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died on September 16 after she was arrested in Tehran by morality police, who accused her of breaking the strict dress code of the Islamic Republic which in particular obliges women to wear the veil.
Read alsoMinute of silence at the National Assembly for the victims of the repression in Iran
Dozens of people, mainly demonstrators but also members of the security forces, were killed during the rallies described as“riots” by the authorities, while hundreds more were arrested.
“Shervin Haji Aghapour (known as Hajipour) has been released on bail”declared Mohammad Karimi, prosecutor of the northern province of Mazandaran to the official agency Irna, specifying that he continued to be the subject of legal proceedings.
Human rights groups outside Iran had reported his arrest last week. The ultra-conservative Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday that the 25-year-old songwriter had been arrested “for showing support for the rioters and solidarity with the enemies by posting the song on social media without obtaining permission”.
Hajipour rose to fame with his song Baraye (“For”), in which he collected tweets about the protest movement. The song went viral on social media, with millions of views within days, and also made its way to local media.
She is currently no longer available on the pop singer’s Instagram account, which has over 1.7 million followers. On Sunday, the Tasnim agency posted its own version of the music video on Telegram, keeping Hajipour’s voice but changing the accompanying footage to extol the Islamic Republic’s achievements. The agency said its video was intended to show “elements more faithful to reality than what is presented on the media battlefield”using “more meaningful images”.