Iran Regime Rounds Up Showbiz & Sports Personalities; Singer Shervin Hajipour, Soccer Player Hossein Mahini Among Detainees

Melanie Goodfellow
·2 min read
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Iranian authorities appear to be following through with threats to “deal” with celebrities publicly voicing support for the wave of anti-government protests that have swept Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police earlier this month.

Posts on social networks as well as amateur blog sites run by Iranians reported Friday that popular Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour had been taken into custody in Tehran in relation to a ballad he wrote in response to Amini’s death.

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Entitled “For,” the song is composed of angry anti-government tweets posted by Iranians after news of Amini’s death on September 16 broke.

Amini died three days after she was arrested for wearing her hijab too loosely. Iranian authorities say she died of a heart attack. Eyewitnesses and people who were detained with the young woman say she was badly beaten. The girl’s father has said his daughter had no underlying health problems.

Hajipour posted his song on his Instagram account but was forced to take it down by the authorities and was then arrested Thursday evening.

The video has since been posted on a variety of other platforms and is gaining traction worldwide amid unverified reports it has been viewed more than 30 million times.

On Friday afternoon, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters joined calls for Hajipour to be freed in a tweet, modifying a line from his rock classic “Another Brick In The Wall.”

Other well-known figures detained over the last 24 hours include soccer star Hossein Mahini, while actress Katayoon Riyahi, one of the first cinema personalities to voice support for the protests, is reportedly on the run after police raided her house in her absence.

The detentions follow threats by a number of Iranian officials in recent days that there would be repercussions for “celebrities” who publicly supported the protests. On Thursday, Tehran governor Mohsen Mansouri said the government would deal with “celebrities who fanned the flames of riots.”

Iranian authorities have claimed that the unrest sparked by Amini’s death is now under control. However, there were reports of clashes been protestors and riot police in a number of provincial cities on Friday.

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