UMVA has learned that Iranian pop star Parastoo Ahmadi has been sentenced to 74 lashes for performing in a concert without a hijab, sparking widespread outrage and concern about the country's human rights record.
The shocking punishment was handed down after Ahmadi and eight members of her production team, including musicians, livestreamed a concert on YouTube in December 2024, where she performed a patriotic song without wearing a hijab.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the criminal court of Qom province also sentenced Ahmadi to a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year ban on engaging in artistic activities, effectively silencing her music career.
The charges against Ahmadi include offending public decency through the production and publication of 'vulgar and immoral content' online, a serious offense in Iran where strict dress codes are enforced.
In Iran, women are required by law to wear a hijab and observe a modest dress code in public, and those who fail to comply can face severe punishment, including fines, imprisonment, and even corporal punishment.
Human rights groups and lawyers have strongly condemned Ahmadi's sentence, saying it reflects a broader effort to deter cultural dissent and suppress artistic freedom in Iran, where the regime tightly controls the media and civil society.
Bahar Ghandehari, a prominent human rights advocate, said Ahmadi's punishment was a reminder that human rights conditions in Iran have not changed, despite the government's claims of reform, and that the regime continues to use brutal tactics to silence dissent.
Moein Khazaeli, a human rights lawyer, also criticized the sentence, saying it lacked a legal basis and that singing, performing music, and producing musical works by women are not criminalized under Iranian law.
The ruling has sent shockwaves through the Iranian artistic community, with many fearing it will lead to escalating cultural repression and further crackdowns on creative freedom, forcing artists to self-censor or face severe punishment.
Iranian-British actor Nazanin Boniadi said the sentencing of Ahmadi to flogging was a stark reminder that the Islamic republic's machinery of repression remains unchanged, and that the international community must not accommodate a regime that uses torture and violence to silence its critics.
