The protest song "Roosarito" calls on Iranian women to take off their veils, and comes in the wake of the widespread protest movement in the country against the religious regime's veil requirement.
Prosecutors in Tehran issued an arrest warrant against the singer after the song's release, and he was arrested shortly thereafter by Iranian police. It reports Radio Free Europe.
The arrest is condemned by PEN US:
"The arrest of Mehdi Yarrahi demonstrates the Iranian regime's systematic and brutal repression of freedom of expression. We stand in solidarity with Iran's artists and cultural workers," they said in a statement.
Tougher retaliation
The arrest comes in the context of increasingly harsh state repression against the protest movement in the country, ahead of the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death. Amini died in hospital in 2022 after being arrested by police for refusing to wear a veil.
According to several eyewitnesses, she was severely beaten by the police in connection with the arrest, something the Iranian state denies. Several Iranian musicians have been arrested and imprisoned for making protest music during the past year.
See more about this in Utrikesbyrån: "The veil police's comeback" on SVT Play.