Covered in schoolyards, broadcast clandestinely in a shopping center, at night through the windows of buildings in Iranian residential neighborhoods... Many videos relayed on social networks show the song of the Iranian Shervin Hajipour, taken up through Iran.
His track "Baraye" has become the unofficial anthem of the protests sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini on September 16.
Within days, the track posted on the singer's Instagram page reached nearly 40 million views before being deleted when Shervin Hajipour was arrested last week in northern Iran.
But the young man has since been released on Tuesday, October 4, on bail.
But he distanced himself from political life, presumably a condition for his release.
"Baraye", which means "Because of" in Persian, compiles tweets about the protests and lists the reasons that prompted Iranians to demonstrate after the death of Mahsa Amini.
It also highlights the population's concerns about the shortages caused by the economic sanctions imposed on Iran, their management by the country's authorities, pollution, the arrests of intellectuals...
"For the dance in the street / Because of the fear felt while kissing / For my sister, your sister, your sisters," the song goes.
"Because of the embarrassment of having empty pockets / Because we long for a normal life / Because of this polluted air."
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"Baraye" sung by Iranian schoolgirls
Last weekend, the song was also sung by Iranians in the diaspora at rallies in more than 150 cities around the world.
In Iran, the song was sung in schoolyards.
In a video shared by the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, a group of schoolgirls without headscarves can be seen singing "Baraye" in class, with their backs to the camera.
*Must-See on #Iran* (3 of 6)
In this clip, girl high school students--in a classroom w/out their forced-hijab--sing what has come to be the anthem of #IranProtests: "Baraye. .." ("For...") by Shervin Hajipour (who has been arrested).
#MahsaAmini #مهسا_امینی #اعتصابات_سراسری pic.twitter.com/fRg3GWkg4D
— IranHumanRights.org (@ICHRI) October 3, 2022
The song was removed from Shervin Hajipour's Instagram account shortly after his arrest, but is still widely available on social media, including Twitter and YouTube.
"Baraye" has also inspired many covers around the world, by anonymous people in South Korea, or by Jerusalem Post columnist Emily Schrader, who said she learned the song in Persian and filmed herself on Instagram performing it, garnering over 650,000 views.
"Forced Instagram Stories"
The singer's lawyer, Majid Kaveh, said he was released on October 4 at noon.
His family had been informed on October 1 of his arrest in Sari, in the north of the country, said the reformist newspaper Shargh in articles quoting his sister, Kamand Hajipour.
In a post on Instagram, the latter said that her parents had been informed of her arrest by telephone by the services of the Ministry of Intelligence of the city.
Shortly after his release, Shervin Hajipour was back on Instagram, but this time to apologize and distance himself from political life.
"I'm here to stay, I'm fine," he told his 1.9 million subscribers.
"But I am sorry that some particular movements based outside of Iran, with which I have no connection, have made political misuse of the song (...) I would not trade my country for any other and I I will stay for my country, my flag, my people, and I will sing," he added.
Shervin Hajipour's Instagram post after his release on October 4, 2022. © Instagram @shervinine
In response to the post, many Twitter users offered to add "Because of forced Instagram stories" to the song's lyrics, suggesting that the young singer posted it under duress.
Human rights organizations, including Article 19, have repeatedly called on Iran to stop using coerced confessions, which they say were obtained under duress or even torture.
A woman who was yelled at on a bus in Tehran b/c of her alleged "improper" hijab has now been slapped with charges including “encouraging corruption and prostitution.”
Sepideh Rashno is a poet and author who has committed no crime other than being a woman in #Iran.
#سپیده_رشنو pic.twitter.com/qxzs2MbEWj
— IranHumanRights.org (@ICHRI) August 22, 2022
Recently, a young Iranian poet, Sepideh Rashno, disappeared in Tehran after being involved in an argument with another woman who accused her of removing her veil on a bus.
She was detained by the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and appeared on television, with an eye injury, engaging in what activists said was a forced confession.
Sepideh Rashno was then released on bail at the end of August.
With AFP
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