- Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi was sentenced to 74 lashes for online concert without hijab in 2024
- Ahmadi and eight team members received two-year bans on travel and artistic activities
- They were accused of offending public decency with "vulgar and immoral content"
Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi has reportedly been sentenced to 74 lashes after performing in an online concert without wearing a hijab.
Ahmadi and eight members of her production team, including musicians, were punished for a concert livestreamed on her YouTube channel in 2024, The Guardian reported.
The court documents reportedly show that a criminal court in Iran's Qom province ordered 74 lashes for the group, along with a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year restriction on participating in artistic activities.
The artists were accused of offending public decency by creating and sharing content that was considered “vulgar and immoral content”. The ruling has not yet been officially published by Iran's judiciary news agency.
According to rights groups and lawyers, who reviewed the documents, the case reflects a broader effort by authorities to deter cultural dissent against artists who publicly defy the regime.
Human rights advocates have strongly condemned the reported sentence. Bahar Ghandehari of the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran described the punishment as evidence that human rights conditions in the country remain largely unchanged.
“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, despite the Iranian authorities' wartime propaganda campaign aimed at improving their image,” she was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Reacting to reports of Ahmadi being flogged for a YouTube performance, journalist Masih Alinejad said the move shows how women's voices are treated as a threat, calling the regime's actions "apartheid against women."
Legal experts have also questioned the ruling. Human rights lawyer Moein Khazaeli stated that Iranian law does not criminalize women singing or producing music.
“The imposition of a flogging sentence against artists, civil society activists or other citizens is not merely a matter of domestic criminal law. It also raises serious concerns regarding states' international obligations to prohibit torture and safeguard human dignity,” he added.
Meanwhile, Iranian-British actor Nazanin Boniadi criticized the reported sentence, saying it demonstrates that repression in Iran continues despite discussions about possible political change. Actor Setareh Maleki, who was exiled after appearing in the Oscar-nominated film The Seed of the Sacred Fig, said Ahmadi's performance "reignited the spirit of resistance in me".
The controversy began in December 2024 when the singer performed the patriotic song Az Khoone Javanane Vatan ("From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland") during an online concert. Ahmadi appeared without a hijab and the video of the livestreamed performance went viral.
At the time, the singer, then reported to be 27 years old, performed alongside four male musicians while wearing a sleeveless black dress with her hair uncovered. The performance later received millions of views on YouTube.
Shortly after the concert was released online, Ahmadi and several musicians were briefly detained by authorities. Although they were later released, a formal case was later filed against them over the publication of the video.
