Singer/songwriter Shervin Hajipour, whose “Baraye” became an anthem of the “Woman. Life. Freedom” protests in 2022

Iran Updates: Regime Officially Bans Virtual Private Networks

UPDATE, MARCH 4:

Mehrdad Bakhtiari, the uncle of slain protester Pouya Bakhtiari, has been sentenced to six years for “assembly and collusion against national security” and “spreading propaganda against the regime”.

The younger Bakhtiari was shot dead by security forces in November 2019, during demonstrations sparked by soaring fuel prices.

In July 2022, his mother, Nahid Shirpisheh, was detained. Mehrdad Bakhtiari was seized about he posted a video and pictures of Shirpisheh’s arrest and the raid of her residence.

ORIGINAL ENTRY, MARCH 2: Iran’s authorities have handed Grammy Award-winning musician Shervin Hajipour a 44-month prison sentence, with three years to be served.

Hajipour’s Baraye became an anthem of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in 2022, after the death of Mahsa Amini — detained and reportedly beaten by “morality police” for “inappropriate attire” — in police custody.

Hajipour was condemned to three years for “encouraging and provoking the public to riot to disrupt national security” and eight months for “propaganda against the establishment”. He will serve the longer of the two sentences.

Hajipour must “promote the achievements” of the Islamic Revolution, with content on culture, science, and art; produce a song about the “USA’s atrocities against humanity”; and summarize two books on the status of women in Islam; and “document human rights violations by the US government over the last century”.

He is also banned from leaving Iran for two years.

On Instagram, the musician thanked his lawyers for “trying their best” and suggested he had no regrets.

Hajipour was summoned by the police and questioned for “encouragement to protest” in September 2022, two days after he posted a video of himself singing “Baraye”. He was released on bail the following month.

Hajipour won Special Merit Award for Best Song for Social Change at the 2023 Grammys for Baraye.

Last month, he released a song and music video about his persecution. He called himself the “trash who didn’t have anyone to post bail for him”: even though he is “not allowed to sing” in public, he will be the “trash that will stay in Iran to rebuild this city” and never leave the country.