Iranian pop singer Mehdi Yarahwho was arrested and then released on bail for releasing a song against the obligation for women to wear headscarves, has been sentenced to prison, his lawyer announced today.

The 42-year-old artist was arrested at the end of August by the Iranian authorities after releasing a song questioning the obligation for women to wear headscarves. He was later released on bail after being detained for almost two months in Tehran’s Evin prison.

“My client, Mehdi Yarahi, was sentenced to a total of two years and eight months in prison and 74 lashes” by a court of first instance, Zahra Minouei’s lawyer said in a post on X.

Judicial authorities announced in September that the artist was charged with “disturbing public order” and “producing and showing films that offend the public vulva”.

Minouei clarified that the artist should serve a one-year prison sentence, which is the maximum, based on the principle of cumulative convictions under Iranian law.

The singer had released the song “Rusarito” (“Your headscarf” in Persian) as the anniversary of the death of Mahsha Amini, a young Iranian-Kurdish woman who died in September 2022 after being arrested by the morality police with the accusation that he violated the strict dress code imposed on women.

Yarahi had released the song and its three-minute music video in favor of the “optional (wearing) headscarf”, dedicating it to the “courageous Iranian women” who have joined the wave of protest.

The artist has awarded with the award for best pop singer of the Fajr festival, which is the country’s most important musical event and is organized by the government.

His song “Soroode Zhan” (“Hymn to the Woman”, in Persian), which was released in early October, became the anthem of the protesters, mainly in universities.

The artist has repeatedly criticized the authorities at his concerts, mainly for discrimination against the residents of the Khuzestan province where he was born.

Photo from wikipedia