Iranian musician Parastoo Ahmadi has reportedly been sentenced to 74 lashes after allegedly performing without wearing a hijab during a livestreamed concert.
The 29-year-old artist, alongside eight members of her production team, performed a concert in 2024 that was broadcast on her YouTube channel. The performance featured the patriotic song “Az Khoon-e Javanan-e Vatan” (“From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland”), and footage from the “Caravanserai Concert” later went viral online.
According to rights activists, a criminal court in Qom province issued the ruling, which also includes additional penalties such as a two-year travel ban and a two-year prohibition from engaging in artistic activities.
The ruling has not yet been officially published by Iran’s judiciary news agency, but legal documents reviewed by lawyers and rights groups reportedly state that the charges relate to “offending public decency” through the production and publication of “vulgar and immoral content” online.
Human rights organisations have condemned the sentence, describing it as further evidence of ongoing restrictions on artistic freedom in Iran.
Bahar Ghandehari, advocacy director at the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, said the punishment highlights the gap between Iran’s public messaging and its treatment of artists.
She described the reported sentence as “yet another reminder that human rights conditions in Iran have not changed, despite the Iranian authorities’ wartime propaganda campaign aimed at improving their image,” adding that the case exposes “the gap between the regime’s propaganda and reality.”
