Iranian Singer Arya Aramnejad Still in Prison

Iranian singer-songwriter Arya Aramnejad was arrested in his home on November 8, 2011. This was the second time Aramenjad was arrested and imprisoned for “seditious activities” relating to a song he composed and released in 2009. Three months after his second arrest he remains in custody.

Twenty-eight year-old Aramnejad, an outspoken supporter of Iran’s democratic Green Movement, composed the song “Ali Barkhiz” (Ali, Rise Up) after violent demonstrations in Tehran on December 27, 2009.

Also known as Ashura, December 27 marks a holy day that commemorates the death of Muslim religious leader Imam Hussein. Despite traditional ceasefire agreements on religious holidays, security forces fired on protesters who were also mourning the death of the reform movement’s spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, and disputing the results of the 2009 Iranian presidential elections. At least ten were killed and thousands were arrested in the clash.

Continue reading this article at Sampsonia Way Magazine