Iranian singer Parastu Ahmadi and eight members of her production team, including musicians, were sentenced to 74 lashes for organizing and performing in 2024 without a hijab, live-streamed on Ahmadi's YouTube channel. This is reported by The Guardian.
According to court documents, the criminal court of Ghom province also imposed a two-year ban on them from leaving the country and engaging in artistic activities. The charges relate to offending public decency by creating and publishing "vulgar and indecent content" online.
Although Iran's official judiciary news agency has yet to release information about the decision, rights groups and lawyers who have reviewed the documents said the case fits into a broader pattern of arrests and prosecutions of artists who publicly oppose the regime, aimed at curbing cultural dissent.
In December 2024, the 29-year-old singer performed the patriotic song "Az Khoone Javanane Vatan" ("From the blood of the motherland's youth") live without a hijab. The speech quickly went viral on the Internet. Shortly thereafter, he and several musicians were temporarily detained, but later released. Authorities later filed a formal case over the release of the video, which has so far garnered millions of views on YouTube.
Bahar Ghandehari, director of the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, noted that Ahmadi's sentence of 74 lashes is another evidence that the human rights situation in Iran has not changed despite the authorities' international PR efforts. According to him, the persecution of artists reveals "the gap between the regime's propaganda and reality".
Human rights defender Moein Khazaeli from the "Dadban" legal consulting center for Iranian activists noted that the verdict has no legal basis. According to him, the singing of women and the distribution of works are not criminalized by the criminal legislation of Iran, therefore such activities cannot be classified under the wording of "production or distribution of obscene content".
He also added that the use of the whip against artists, civil activists and other citizens is not only a domestic legal issue, but also raises serious questions about Iran's international obligations regarding the prohibition of torture and the protection of human dignity. According to him, many human rights organizations consider the whip not a legal punishment, but a form of torture and inhumane treatment.
Among Iranian artists, this decision, although not unexpected, has deepened the concerns of intensifying cultural pressures.
Iranian-British actress Nazanin Boniadi noted that the flogging of Parastu Ahmadi for singing without a hijab is a reminder that despite political statements, the Islamic Republic's mechanism of oppression remains unchanged. According to him, putting up with a regime that persecutes women for their voice and kills citizens for demanding rights only encourages the continuation of repression.
Iranian actress Setare Maleki, who was forced to be deported from Iran after starring in Mohammad Rasoulof's Oscar-nominated film The Sacred Fig Seed, said Ahmadi's speech had a strong emotional impact on her. He noted that while watching the video, he again felt the spirit of resistance and pride towards the artist, who, realizing all the consequences, did not give up his rights to sing and be heard.
According to her, the struggle of Iranian women is continuous, and every such case is a reminder of hope and resistance, despite the long road that still needs to be covered.
