Iranian singer sentenced to 74 lashes for not wearing hijab during livestream concert

The court ruled that Ahmadi and the others offended “public decency through the production and publication of obscene and immoral content on cyberspace platforms.”

By Shiryn Ghermezian, The Algemeiner

Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and members of her production team have been reportedly sentenced to 74 lashes by the regime in Iran over her performing without a hijab in a concert that was broadcast live on YouTube.

In 2024, the 29-year-old singer and eight members of her production team performed a livestream concert on Ahmadi’s YouTube channel.

Ahmadi defied Iran’s mandatory dress code for women and did not wear a hijab while performing the patriotic song “Az Khoon-e Javanan-e Vatan” (“From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland”).

Shortly after she posted the video of the “Caravanserai Concert” online, she and two members of her band were arrested and briefly detained, according to the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran.

According to activists and media reports, the criminal court of Iran’s Qom province has now sentenced Ahmadi, musicians Ehsan Beiraqdar and Soheil Faqih Nasiri, and six members of her production team to flogging, a two-year ban on leaving Iran, and a two-year ban on participating in artistic activities because of the YouTube performance.

The ruling has not been published by the official judiciary news agency, but lawyers, human rights groups, and the UK news publication The Guardian saw court documents confirming the sentencing.

The court ruled that Ahmadi and the others offended “public decency through the production and publication of obscene and immoral content on cyberspace platforms.”

“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,” said Bahar Ghandehari, the director of advocacy at the Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad criticized the sentencing in a post on X.

“One day after the US signed a deal with the Islamic Republic، the regime in Iran, handed Parastoo Ahmadi 74 lashes for singing on YouTube,” she wrote, referring to the US memorandum of understanding with Iran.

“They call America the Great Satan. And then they flew to the table and signed a deal with the ‘Devil.’ But a woman’s voice scared them more than any superpower ever could,” Alinejad added.

“A regime that whips women for showing their hair and singing – there’s not a normal government. This is called apartheid against women.”

Human rights lawyer Moein Khazaeli defended Ahmadi and condemned her sentencing while speaking to The Guardian.

“Singing, performing music, and producing or disseminating musical works by women are not criminalized under Iranian criminal law. Consequently, such activities cannot reasonably be construed as the ‘production, distribution, or publication of obscene content,’” he said.

“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. For this reason, numerous human rights organizations consider flogging not a legitimate form of punishment, but rather a form of torture and inhuman treatment.”