Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi, who performed without a headscarf in a concert broadcast on YouTube, has been sentenced in Iran along with eight members of her production team and accompanying musicians to 74 lashes, a two-year travel ban, and a two-year prohibition on artistic activity.
According to the Hrana news agency, citing BBC Persian, the authorities accused the nine of producing and publishing “obscene and immoral content” on online platforms.
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Hair uncovered and bares shoulders: Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi gets tough sentence
(Photo: Screenshot/YouTube)
The controversy began in December 2024, when the singer, born in 1997, held a live YouTube performance in which she appeared in a long black dress with her arms and neck uncovered and without a hijab, accompanied by four male musicians. Ahmadi had published the link to the performance on YouTube a day earlier, writing: “I am Parastoo, a girl who wants to sing for the people she loves. It is a right I cannot ignore; to sing for the country I love so much.”
Following the performance, security forces raided Ahmadi’s home, she was summoned for questioning at the prosecutor’s office, and Iranian authorities announced she would be prosecuted. Pianist Ehsan Beiraqdar and guitarist Soheil Faqih-Nasiri also were arrested.
Watch the concert:
On December 15, 2024, the two male musicians were released under judicial supervision. Ahmadi was also released from detention around 3 a.m. the following morning under similar conditions. On December 23, 2024, indictments were filed against them and all were released on bail.
According to the report, the head of the Information Center of the Mazandaran Province Police Command said authorities stated that “following the production and publication of a video by Ms. Parastoo Ahmadi that was deemed contrary to social norms and values, she was summoned to the Public Security Police and instructed to appear before the judicial authorities.”
First published: 20:23, 06.18.26