Key facts
- Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight production team members have reportedly been sentenced to 74 lashes.
Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight production team members have reportedly been sentenced to 74 lashes for performing a concert livestreamed without a hijab. The ruling also includes a two-year ban on leaving the country and artistic activities, drawing criticism from rights groups.
This ruling underscores the severe penalties faced by artists in Iran for perceived violations of cultural and religious norms, highlighting ongoing human rights concerns and the suppression of dissent within the country.
The Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of her production team have reportedly been sentenced to 74 lashes each, along with a two-year ban on leaving the country and engaging in artistic activities. The ruling from the criminal court of Qom province cites charges of offending public decency through the production and publication of "vulgar and immoral content" on cyberspace platforms.
The sentence follows a viral 2024 performance where the 29-year-old singer performed the patriotic song "Az Khoone Javanane Vatan" without a hijab in a livestream. Ahmadi was briefly detained with musicians shortly after the performance but was later released before formal charges were filed.
Rights groups and lawyers have condemned the ruling. Bahar Ghandehari of the Center for Human Rights in Iran stated that the punishment for singing and appearing without a hijab highlights the unchanged human rights conditions in Iran. Moein Khazaeli, a human rights lawyer, argued that singing and disseminating musical works by women are not criminalized under Iranian law and that flogging constitutes torture and a violation of international obligations.
The sentence has intensified fears of escalating cultural repression among Iranian artists. Iranian-British actor Nazanin Boniadi commented that the ruling demonstrates the Islamic Republic's unchanged machinery of repression. Actress Setareh Maleki, who went into exile after starring in Mohammad Rasoulof's film, expressed that Ahmadi's act reignited her spirit of resistance and highlighted the ongoing fight of Iranian women against tyranny.