24/06/2026
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24/06/2026
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TEHRAN, Jun 24: Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of her production team have reportedly been sentenced to 74 lashes after taking part in a livestreamed concert in which Ahmadi performed without wearing a hijab.
According to court documents reviewed by rights groups and lawyers, a criminal court in Qom province sentenced Ahmadi, musicians and production staff to flogging, a two-year travel ban and a two-year ban on artistic activities .
The charges reportedly include offending public decency through the production and online publication of “vulgar and immoral content”.
Iran’s official judiciary news agency has not yet published the ruling. However, human rights advocates say the case reflects a wider crackdown on artists and public figures who challenge state restrictions, particularly those affecting women.
In December 2024, Ahmadi, 29, performed the patriotic song Az Khoone Javanane Vatan — translated as From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland — in a livestream on her YouTube channel. The performance, in which she appeared without a hijab, went viral and has since drawn millions of views.
Ahmadi and several musicians were briefly detained shortly after the video was released before being freed. Authorities later opened a formal case over the performance and its publication online.
Bahar Ghandehari, director of advocacy at the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran , condemned the reported sentence.
“Ahmadi’s punishment of 74 lashes for merely singing and appearing without a hijab is yet another reminder that human rights conditions in Iran have not changed,” she said.
She added that the prosecution exposed the gap between official government messaging and the reality faced by artists and dissidents inside the country.
Human rights lawyer Moein Khazaeli , of Dadban, a legal counselling centre for Iranian activists, said the sentence had no legal basis.
“Singing, performing music and producing or disseminating musical works by women are not criminalised under Iranian criminal law,” he said.
Khazaeli also argued that flogging violates international human rights standards.
“Numerous human rights organisations consider flogging not a legitimate form of punishment, but rather a form of torture and inhuman treatment,” he said.
The reported ruling has intensified fears among Iranian artists of increasing cultural repression.
Iranian-British actor Nazanin Boniadi described the sentence as evidence that “the Islamic republic’s machinery of repression remains unchanged”.
Actor Setareh Maleki , who left Iran after appearing in Mohammad Rasoulof’s Oscar-nominated film The Seed of the Sacred Fig , said Ahmadi’s performance had deeply moved her.
“When I watched the video of Parastoo Ahmadi’s concert, it reignited the spirit of resistance in me,” Maleki said.
She added that Ahmadi’s decision to sing publicly despite the risks represented the continuing defiance of Iranian women.
“Iranian women never stop fighting against tyranny, not even for a moment,” she said.
