Fans bid farewell to pop singer Morteza Pashaii

TEHRAN -- Fans bid an emotional farewell to pop singer Morteza Pashaii, who died last Friday at 30 after battling cancer, during a funeral procession that began at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on Sunday.

 

Thousands took to the streets nearby in the early hours of the morning to take part in the funeral ceremony, while police blocked traffic on the streets in order to facilitate the funeral procession.

 

Hundreds, most of them young people, fixed photos of Pashaii on their shirts, and sang his hits in front of Vahdat Hall.

 

Many pop singers, including Sirvan Khosravi, Xaniar Khosravi, Mohsen Yeganeh, Benyamin Bahadori, Mohammad Alizadeh and Behnam Safavi also attended the ceremony. 

 

Pashaii’s coffin covered with the flag of Iran was placed on a stage. 

 

Niavaran Cultural Center Director Seyyed Abbas Sajjadi, who was the host for the ceremony, read a message of condolences sent by Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati.

 

Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Ali Moradkhani also delivered a short speech at the ceremony.

 

He praised people for attending the ceremony and said, “I realized once again that these people bring us honor with their unity and show all the world that we all show respect to our stars and all persons who are contributing to the art and culture of the country.”

 

The ceremony went on with a performance by singer Mohammad Alizadeh and a short speech by Pashaii’s uncle, who thanked people for attending the ceremony.

 

Pashaii shot to fame with his debut album “There Is Someone” in 2010. His works in the albums that followed, “One-Way Road”, “Breathe” and “Worship”, were also widely acclaimed by people.

 

 

MMS/YAW

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