Iran court finalises 74-lash sentence against singer Parastoo Ahmadi as appeal rejected
A Qom appeals court has rejected singer Parastoo Ahmadi's appeal against her 74-lash sentence over a hijab-free livestreamed concert, making the punishment final. Her lawyers say the concert was never a crime.
An appeals court in Qom has rejected a petition by Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi, 29, and seven members of her team against their sentences of 74 lashes, making the punishments final, the BBC has reported.
Appeals court branch head Abbas Gharabaghi ruled that the evidence and arguments presented by the singers’ lawyers were “insufficient”, according to the BBC’s reporting, cited by The National. One member of Ms Ahmadi’s team did not file an appeal.
In June, a Qom criminal court handed the artists 74 lashes plus a two-year ban on travel and artistic activities, convicting them of “hurting public decency” by publishing “vulgar and immoral content in cyberspace” over a concert performed without an audience and broadcast online in December 2024.
The video, viewed more than three million times on YouTube, shows Ms Ahmadi performing without a headscarf, which Iranian law requires women to wear in public, and singing alone — something the authorities have banned women from doing since the 1979 revolution. Iran’s judiciary said the concert was “in violation of the country’s legal and cultural regulations”.
Her lawyer told the BBC the concert was “not a crime at all”, arguing the trial court imposed “one of the harshest punishments” available despite lesser options, and that the appeals court — which could have held a hearing — upheld the judgment without one, in what appeared designed “to deter the recurrence of similar events”. Amnesty International has described flogging as “cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment”.
The National reported it is not clear when or where the lashings will be carried out, and that the defendants cannot appeal further to the Supreme Court.
Sources
- The National, Iranian court rejects appeal of singer sentenced to 74 lashes (citing BBC reporting)
- The Jerusalem Post, Iran court upholds 74-lash sentence for singer Parastoo Ahmadi
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