Iranian Singer Parastoo Ahmadi and Eight Others Sentenced to 74 Lashes Over Un-Hijabed Concert

An Iranian court has sentenced singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of her production team to 74 lashes, a two-year travel ban, and a two-year prohibition on artistic activities for performing without a hijab in a livestreamed concert in 2024. According to court documents obtained by rights groups and reported by multiple outlets, the criminal court of Qom province found the artists guilty of offending public decency through the production and publication of what it described as "vulgar and immoral content" online.

The sentence stems from a December 2024 performance in which the 29-year-old Ahmadi sang the patriotic song "Az Khoone Javanane Vatan" (From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland) without a hijab, livestreamed on her YouTube channel. The video went viral, accumulating 2.9 million views, and led to her brief detention along with several musicians before their release. Authorities later filed a formal case over the publication of the video.

Human rights organizations and legal experts have sharply criticized the ruling. Bahar Ghandehari, director of advocacy at the U.S.-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, called the punishment "another reminder that human rights conditions in Iran have not changed, despite the Iranian authorities' wartime propaganda campaign aimed at improving their image." Moein Khazaeli, a human rights lawyer at the Iranian legal counseling center Dadban, argued that "singing, performing music and producing musical works by women are not criminalized under Iranian criminal law" and that flogging amounts to torture under international law.

The case has resonated widely among Iranian artists and activists in exile. Actor Setareh Maleki, who was forced into exile after starring in an Oscar-nominated film, said Ahmadi's performance "reignited the spirit of resistance in me." Actor Nazanin Boniadi added: "The sentencing of singer Parastoo Ahmadi to flogging for the simple act of singing publicly without a hijab is a stark reminder that, despite talk in Washington of a 'new regime' in Iran, the Islamic republic's machinery of repression remains unchanged."

The ruling has deepened fears of escalating cultural repression in Iran, where artists have increasingly faced legal consequences for defying the mandatory hijab law. The official judiciary news agency has not yet published the verdict, but rights groups say the pattern of arrests and prosecutions signals a broader effort to deter cultural dissent.