Parastoo Ahmadi: Iranian Singer Convicted After Performing Without Hijab, Court Rejects Appeal

• Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi was sentenced to 74 lashes after performing without a hijab during an online concert streamed in December 2024
• A court in Qom convicted Ahmadi and her production team of harming public decency, also handing her a two-year ban on travel and artistic activities
• Human rights groups have strongly criticised the punishment, questioning both its severity and the legal basis for criminalising artistic performances

Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi has lost her appeal against a sentence of 74 lashes, after a court in Qom rejected a challenge brought by her legal team against the original conviction.

The 29-year-old was found guilty in June 2026 alongside members of her music and production crew following an online concert streamed in December 2024.

The performance, which had no live audience and was uploaded to YouTube, drew more than three million views, largely because Ahmadi appeared without the mandatory headscarf and sang as a solo performer.

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Ahmadi's conviction and what the court decided

Authorities opened a case against the artists after the concert gained widespread attention.

A court in Qom found the group guilty of harming public decency through the publication of what it described as vulgar and immoral content online.

In addition to the 74 lashes shared by all defendants, Parastoo Ahmadi personally received a two-year ban on leaving Iran and on participating in any artistic activities.

When the defendants challenged the ruling, appeals court branch head Abbas Gharabaghi rejected their arguments, saying the evidence and submissions presented by the lawyers fell short of what was required to overturn the sentence.

The original punishment now stands, though it remains unclear when and where the flogging will be carried out.

Human rights groups condemn the ruling

The verdict has drawn sharp criticism from legal and human rights organisations.

The Abdorrahman Boroumand Centre condemned flogging as a degrading and violent punishment, while the volunteer lawyers' group Dadban questioned whether criminal charges can legitimately be applied to artistic activity.

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Before the concert began, a message on Ahmadi's YouTube page described her simply as a woman who wanted to sing for the people she loved.

That framing resonated widely outside Iran, where the case became a focal point for discussions about freedom of expression and women's rights under the country's strict legal framework.

Iranian law has required women to wear the hijab in public since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and women have also faced restrictions on performing as solo singers since that same period.

Ahmadi's decision to do both simultaneously in a widely shared online setting placed her case firmly in the international spotlight, where it continues to draw attention as the courts finalise the consequences of that performance.

The Facebook post of the sentencing is below.

Caleb Flynn found guilty of murder

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported on former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn’s conviction for murdering his wife, Ashley Flynn, in Ohio. The jury found him guilty on all nine charges after deliberating for about two hours.

Flynn told American Idol viewers in 2013, “I love my wife more than anything.” Prosecutors later argued that he staged the scene to look like a burglary after killing her as she slept.

Source: YEN.com.gh