Despite authorities silencing Iranian artist Shervin Hajipour, his enthusiastic song “Pray” in support of the demonstrations has remained the unofficial anthem of the protest movement that emerged after Mahsa Amini’s death while she was in the custody of the vice police.
And ‘Pray’, which means ‘for’ in Persian, had 40 million views on Instagram before being taken down along with the arrest of pop singer Hajipour, who said after being released on bail that he had distanced himself from politics and most likely , this was one of the conditions for his release.
The song is based on tweets highlighting people’s yearning for the things that Iran lacks due to sanctions, as well as the hardships they face due to economic mismanagement and their confrontation with the Islamic Republic authorities over simple life issues.
For dancing in the streets, for the fear we feel while kissing, for my sister, your sister and your sisters, for the embarrassment of an empty pocket and because we yearn for a normal life (.. .) and this polluted air.
The song “Pray” was played at night from housing estates in Iran to show support for the protests sparked by Amini’s death on September 16 after the vice police arrested her for allegedly violating the rules of wearing the hijab and modest dress.
Iranian emigrants also enthusiastically sang it at rallies in more than 150 cities around the world.
In videos released by the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, a group of unveiled students sing Bray in class with their backs to the camera.
The song is still available on some other social networks including Twitter and YouTube despite being removed from Instagram.
Many oversang the song, with opinion columnist Emily Schroeder of The Jerusalem Post claiming to have learned the song in Farsi and posting a personal video of her performance on Instagram, which has racked up over 650,000 views.
Majid Kaveh, a lawyer for Hajipour, said Iranian authorities released his client on bail at noon on Tuesday.
The reformist newspaper Sharq quoted Sherwin’s sister, Hajipura Kamand, as saying that her family had reported his arrest on Saturday in the northern city of Sari.
Kamand said in an Instagram post that her parents received a call about the matter from the Ministry of Intelligence offices in the city.
Shortly after his release, Hajipour took to Instagram, this time to apologize and distance himself from politics.
“I’m here to say I’m fine,” he told his 1.9 million followers.
“But I am sorry that some movements outside of Iran that I am not affiliated with have used this song for inappropriate political purposes,” he added.
He emphasized: “I will not replace this (state) with any other place, and I will stay for the sake of my country, my knowledge and my people, and I will sing.”
In response to his post, many on Twitter suggested adding the phrase “For forced Instagram stories” to the song’s lyrics.
Human rights groups have long called on Iran to stop using forced confessions obtained under duress or even torture.
In one case, a young Iranian woman named Sepideh Rahno disappeared after she was involved in a bus dispute in Tehran with another woman who accused her of taking off her hijab.
She was later revealed to have been held by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and appeared on television in what activists called a forced confession before she was released on bail in late August.
