Story perspectives

Iran Courts Impose 74 Lashes, Ban on Singer Over Hijab

6/19/2026

Summary

Parastoo Ahmadi Lashed

Iran's Qom court sentenced Parastoo Ahmadi and eight others to 74 lashes and a two-year ban.
The ruling follows Ahmadi’s December 2024 livestream of “Az Khoone Javanane Vatan” without a hijab, which prompted detention of her and other musicians.
Human-rights lawyer Moein Khazaeli says the punishment lacks legal basis because women’s singing is not criminalised.
Rights groups argue the case shows a broader pattern of Iran’s regime suppressing cultural dissent.

Summary

Ahmadi Charged

The IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency said the verdict protects “social norms and values.”
The December 2025 YouTube-streamed “Caravanserai Concert” triggered the arrests of the performers.
Mazandaran Province Police’s Information Center head said Ahmadi was summoned to Public Security Police before court.
Prosecutors charged the group under Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code and Article 743 of the Computer Crimes Law.
Lawyer Mohammad Hadi Jafarpour argued that Iranian law does not criminalize women’s singing.

Summary

Ahmadi Defies

Parastoo Ahmadi recorded a thirty-minute “An Imaginary Concert” inside the Deir Gachin Caravanserai in Qom, referencing Iran’s ban on solo female singers.
Ahmadi, born 1997 in Nowshahr and a Soore University film-directing graduate, expands from patriotic anthems to folk songs and poetry by Baba Taher and Mehdi Akhavan Sales.
HRANA recorded arrests, bail releases and court proceedings after Ahmadi’s 2022 rendition of Aref Qazvini’s patriotic song during Mahsa Amini protests.

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Parastoo Ahmadi Lashed

Iran's Qom court sentenced Parastoo Ahmadi and eight others to 74 lashes and a two-year ban.
The ruling follows Ahmadi’s December 2024 livestream of “Az Khoone Javanane Vatan” without a hijab, which prompted detention of her and other musicians.
Human-rights lawyer Moein Khazaeli says the punishment lacks legal basis because women’s singing is not criminalised.
Rights groups argue the case shows a broader pattern of Iran’s regime suppressing cultural dissent.

1 / 3