© Matthias Wagner via Unsplash
Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of her production team have been sentenced to 74 lashes, a two-year ban on leaving Iran, and a two-year ban on artistic activities. This is their punishment for holding a concert that was live-streamed on Ahmadi’s YouTube channel in 2024.
The criminal court of Qom Province convicted them on charges including violating public morality by producing and publishing “vulgar and immoral content” online.
The case stems from a livestream on Parastoo Ahmadi’s YouTube channel in December 2024. At the time, she sang the patriotic song “Az Khoone Javanane Vatan” (From the Blood of the Youth of the Fatherland) while not wearing a hijab. The video of the concert went viral. The singer, along with several musicians, was briefly detained and then released, but the authorities later filed formal charges in connection with the video, which garnered millions of views on YouTube.
Human rights organizations and lawyers argue that the verdict has no legal basis, contending that singing and producing music by women is not a criminal offense under Iranian criminal law. Human rights activists condemn flogging as torture and inhumane treatment that violates international obligations. The ruling reflects a broader pattern of arrests of artists who oppose the regime, aimed at discouraging cultural resistance.
Iranian artists and exiles, including Nazanin Boniadi and Setareh Maleki, describe the punishment as proof that Iran’s repressive apparatus remains unchanged despite the regime’s propaganda. Maleki praised Ahmadi’s resistance as inspiring and said that Iranian women never stop fighting tyranny and that artists like Ahmadi become “beacons” of hope.
Illustration image: © Matthias Wagner via Unsplash