Iran Singer, Eight Musicians Face 74 Lashes over Livestreamed Concert
The performance, held at a traditional caravanserai complex in Qom province, featured the singer performing to an empty audience on a dimly lit stage, accompanied by a pianist, drummer, guitarist and bassist.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Amnesty International on Thursday called on Iran to halt plans to flog singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight other musicians, after an appeals court upheld 74-lash sentences against each of them over a livestreamed concert.
The case stems from a December 2024 performance by Ahmadi, who streamed the concert on her YouTube channel. The performance, held at a traditional caravanserai complex in Qom province, featured the singer performing to an empty audience on a dimly lit stage, accompanied by a pianist, drummer, guitarist and bassist.
Ahmadi appeared without observing Iran's mandatory Islamic dress code for women, wearing a long gown and red lipstick while singing in front of the camera. Women in Iran are prohibited from performing as solo singers in public and are required to cover their hair in public.
A court sentenced Ahmadi and the eight musicians to 74 lashes each. The sentence was upheld by an appeals court in Qom province on Friday, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and Iranian media reports.
"Iranian authorities must immediately halt any plans to carry out floggings, which amount to torture, against singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight others in connection to a live-streamed 2024 concert in Qom province," Amnesty International said Thursday.
The rights organization said flogging constitutes "cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment" and violates the prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment.
Amnesty also said the sentences demonstrate what it described as the "inhumanity and brutality" of Iran's justice system and its treatment of women's rights.
Ahmadi's original livestream has been viewed around three million times on YouTube, while recordings of the performance have received thousands of additional views on other channels.
The case has drawn attention to restrictions on women's participation in public musical performances in Iran, where authorities have imposed strict rules on women's dress and singing.