How to save a fentanyl victim: Key facts about naloxone
Eight convicted in France over murder of teacher who showed Prophet caricature
Death toll in German Christmas market car-ramming rises to five, more than 200 injured
Syria's new rulers name foreign minister amid push for international relations
Pakistan dismisses US official's warning over missile programme as unfounded
Weightlifting Taiwan granny, 90, garners cheers, health benefits at gym
Russia's UK embassy denounces G7 loans to Ukraine as 'fraudulent scheme'
Retailer Party City files for bankruptcy, will wind down 700 stores
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid working through injuries and mental health struggles
Soccer's top players have had enough, as FIFA's new super-sized tournament sparks a revolt
By Humeyra Pamuk and Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday condemned the sentencing of an Iranian singer who won a Grammy award in 2023 for a song that became an anthem for mass Iranian protests after the death of Mahsa Amin while in the custody of the morality police.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
Iranian singer and songwriter Shervin Hajipour said on his Instagram account last week that he had been sentenced to more than three years in prison. He was convicted for incitement and provocation of people to disturb national security through his music, local rights advocates noted.
Hajipour, 26, wrote and published the song "Baraye" following the death in police custody of Amini, a young woman from Iranian Kurdistan.
U.S. first lady Jill Biden described the song as a "powerful and poetic call for freedom and women's rights" when she presented him last year with the first-ever song for social change Grammy award for "Baraye." A song "can ultimately change the world," she said at the time.
KEY QUOTES
"We condemn the years long prison sentence for Shervin Hajipour," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters in a press briefing on Monday.
"The Iranian government's actions are just another signal of their intent to crackdown on freedom of expression and repress voices inside their own society whenever possible."
CONTEXT
Amini, 22, was arrested in Tehran in 2022 for "unsuitable attire" by the morality police. Her death in police custody sparked huge protests in Iran and by Iranians in other parts of the world. The unrest spiraled into the biggest show of opposition to Iran's authorities in years.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler)
