Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi sentenced to 74 lashes for performing without hijab in YouTube concert

An Iranian criminal court has handed down a sentence of 74 lashes to the singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of her band and production team, alongside a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year prohibition on artistic activities. The ruling, reported on 18 June 2026, stems from a YouTube concert in December 2024 in which Ahmadi appeared without a hijab, in violation of the Islamic Republic’s strict dress and performance codes for women.

The court ruling

The criminal court of Qom province convicted the nine defendants of producing and publishing “vulgar and immoral content” online and offending public decency. The official judiciary news agency has not yet released the ruling, but rights groups and lawyers who reviewed court documents confirmed the sentence. The verdict can still be appealed, according to local media reports.

“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.”

The December 2024 concert

On 11 December 2024, the 29-year-old singer livestreamed a performance titled “An Imaginary Concert” from a historic caravanserai in Deir Gachin, Qom province. She wore a sleeveless black dress, her hair uncovered, and sang several songs including the patriotic piece “Az Khoone Javanane Vatan” (From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland). The video has since accumulated nearly three million views on YouTube. Ahmadi and several musicians were briefly detained after the broadcast, then released on bail. By late December, the Tehran prosecutor had filed formal charges.

Rights groups say sentence lacks legal basis

Human rights lawyers and international organisations swiftly condemned the punishment. Moein Khazaeli, a human rights lawyer at the legal centre Dadban, argued that Iranian criminal law does not criminalise singing or performing music by women, and that the activities cannot reasonably be classified as obscene content.

“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.”

Nazanin Boniadi, the Iranian-British actress, said the sentence demonstrated the continuity of repressive mechanisms against cultural dissent.

Wider crackdown on women’s defiance

The case is the latest flashpoint in a years-long struggle over compulsory hijab in Iran. Following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in 2022, mass protests erupted under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”. Although the demonstrations were violently suppressed, many women in Tehran and other cities have since stopped wearing the headscarf as an act of civil disobedience. From early 2025, authorities stopped strictly enforcing the hijab law, making uncovered women a common sight in public. The sentencing of Ahmadi is seen by activists as a signal that the regime still punishes high-profile acts of defiance, even as street-level enforcement has eased.