An Iranian appeals court has upheld a sentence of 74 lashes against singer Parastoo Ahmadi over a 2024 online performance in which she appeared without the mandatory hijab.
Ahmadi performed the approximately 27-minute concert at a historic caravanserai in Iran in December 2024. The performance, which had no live audience, was livestreamed on her YouTube channel and later went viral online.
The singer appeared in a black, sleeveless dress with her hair uncovered while performing alongside male musicians. Iranian authorities subsequently opened a criminal case, saying the performance violated the country’s legal and cultural regulations. Ahmadi and two musicians were arrested shortly afterwards and later released.
In June 2026, a criminal court in Qom sentenced Ahmadi and eight members of her music and production team to 74 lashes. The court also imposed a two-year ban on artistic activities and a two-year restriction on leaving Iran. The charges included offending public decency through the production and publication of material deemed obscene or immoral.
The defendants appealed the ruling, but an appeals court has now rejected the appeal and upheld the sentence, according to reports citing their lawyers and Iranian media.
Ahmadi’s case has drawn international attention because Iran requires women to observe hijab and modest-dress rules in public. Her performance came amid continued debate over the country’s restrictions on women and artistic expression following the 2022 protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.
Human rights organisations have criticised the use of flogging as punishment. Amnesty International has described flogging as cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, while Ahmadi’s lawyers have argued that holding the concert did not constitute a crime.
The ruling means Ahmadi faces both the corporal punishment and restrictions on her artistic activities and international travel.
