Iranian singer presented with Grammy by Jill Biden for protest song against regime ordered to write anti-USA track
An Iranian Grammy winner was ordered to write an anti-US song as punishment for his award-winning track, which slammed the Islamic regime, a human rights group said.
Shervin Hajipour, 27, was ordered to craft a song about the “USA’s atrocities against humanity” for singing a song called “Baraye” about an activist who refused to wear a hijab, Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) announced Friday.
Hajipour’s song — which won a Grammy last that was given to him in absentia by First Lady Jill Biden — tells the tale of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody for refusing to wear the mandatory female head covering. His song became the anthem of the nationwide protests, which later led to his arrest.
He was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for “inciting people to cause unrest against national security” and for “spreading propaganda against the [Iranian] regime” after he wrote the song.
The Grammy winner also has to summarize two books about women’s status in Islam and collect cases of human rights violations by US government over the past century as part of his punishment, the group said.
Hajipour is also prohibited from leaving Iran for two years, according to HRANA, and is “mandated to compile and share the achievements of the Islamic Revolution in culture, science, and art on his internet platform.”
The singer thanked his lawyers on Instagram and said “Someday we will understand each other.”
Hajipour was arrested in 2022 by security forces during nationwide protests. He was released on bail in October 2023.
At the 2023 Grammys, First Lady Jill Biden presented Hajipour, who was not at the ceremony, with his award for Song for Social Change. He was the first winner of the award.
“He was arrested but this song continues to resonate around the world for its powerful theme: Women, life, freedom,” Biden said. “This song became the anthem of the Mahsa Amini protests.”
His song was seen on Instagram more than 40 million times in less than two days. Hajipour’s track had more than 110,000 submissions when the Recording Academy announced the award category.
“Music is one of the most powerful forces on earth and has long been an engine of important social and political advancements. We created this award to shine a spotlight on the music that is making a difference and there couldn’t have been a better song to win this inaugural honor than Shervin’s,” CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said.
