Overview
- A penal court in Qom ordered 74 lashes on Thursday and barred Parastoo Ahmadi from leaving Iran or working as an artist for two years, and the same penalties were handed to eight members of her team.
- The verdict stems from a 27‑minute video titled "Un concierto imaginario" that Ahmadi posted to YouTube on December 11, 2024 and that drew around three million views after showing her singing without a hiyab and accompanied by male musicians.
- Ahmadi and several collaborators were arrested after the video and later released on bail following formal charges from the Tehran prosecutor’s office.
- International rights organizations say corporal punishment amounts to torture and have criticized the ruling, and there are no public reports that the lashes have been carried out.
- The case highlights long‑standing rules that ban solo public singing by women and enforce mandatory head coverings since 1979 and could deepen cautiousness among Iran’s artists and increase moral‑policing by authorities.