An appeals court in Iran has confirmed a sentence of 74 lashes for singer Parastoo Ahmadi, who performed without the mandatory hijab, her lawyers have stated. Ms Ahmadi sang while wearing a sleeveless dress during a concert livestreamed on her YouTube channel in December 2024.
Iran's judiciary initiated proceedings against the 29-year-old after the video gained millions of views, citing a violation of the country's legal and cultural regulations. In June, a criminal court in Qom reportedly found Ms Ahmadi and eight members of her band and production team guilty of charges including "offending public decency" through the publication of "obscene and indecent material".
In addition to the lashing sentence, they were banned from audiovisual activities and from leaving the country for two years. On Friday, the defendants' appeal was "rejected" by a higher court without a hearing, according to their lawyers. One of the lawyers told the BBC that they believed holding the concert was not a crime and that the trial court imposed a harsh punishment despite other options being available.
Human rights activists have condemned the sentence, with Amnesty International stating that "flogging constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and violates the absolute prohibition on torture and other ill treatment". In January 2024, Kurdish-Iranian activist Roya Heshmati was flogged 74 times for a social media photo showing her without a hijab.