Iranian Singer Parastoo Ahmadi Sentenced to 74 Lashes After YouTube Livestream
Parastoo Ahmadi, a 29‑year‑old Iranian singer, and eight members of her production team were handed a sentence of 74 lashes, a two‑year travel ban and a two‑year prohibition on artistic activity by the Criminal Court of Qom province, following a December 2024 livestream of her patriotic song “Az Khoone Javanane Vatan” (From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland) that aired on YouTube without the singer wearing a hijab.
The court’s decision comes after authorities charged the group with “offending public decency” by producing and publishing “vulgar and immoral content” online, according to court documents that have not yet been released by the judiciary’s official news agency.
Rights groups and lawyers who examined the documents say the case is part of a wider effort by Iranian officials to curb cultural dissent.
According to The Guardian, Ahmadi was briefly detained along with several musicians shortly after the video was posted. The authorities later filed a formal case over the publication of the clip, which has amassed millions of views on YouTube. The Guardian cites Bahar Ghandehari, director of advocacy at the US‑based Center for Human Rights in Iran, who warned that the punishment “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.”
Human‑rights lawyer Moein Khazaeli of Dadban, a legal counselling centre for Iranian activists, criticised the sentence as lacking a legal basis. He argued that “singing, performing music and producing or disseminating musical works by women are not criminalised under Iranian criminal law. Consequently, such activities cannot reasonably be construed as the ‘production, distribution or publication of obscene content’.” Khazaeli added that flogging “raises serious concerns regarding states’ international obligations to prohibit torture and safeguard human dignity.”
The verdict has drawn condemnation from other Iranian artists. British‑Iranian actor Nazanin Boniadi said the punishment “is a stark reminder that the Islamic republic’s machinery of repression remains unchanged.” Setareh Maleki, who fled Iran after starring in the Oscar‑nominated film The Seed of the Sacred Fig, said watching the livestream “reignited the spirit of resistance in me” and noted that daily acts of defiance against censorship are a form of resistance.
The case fits a pattern of arrests and legal actions against artists who publicly challenge the regime. While the court’s ruling has not yet been formally announced, the documents reviewed by rights groups indicate that the artists will face physical punishment and restrictions on travel and artistic work for two years. The Iranian judiciary has not yet issued an official statement on the verdict, and rights organisations continue to monitor the situation.
Ahmadi’s sentencing underscores the ongoing clash between artistic expression and state censorship in Iran and highlights the risks musicians face when they perform without a hijab or produce content that pushes official boundaries.
