Iran sentences singer Parastoo Ahmadi, eight others to lashings over performance without hijab

By DANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD JUNE 18, 2026 16:42 Updated: JUNE 18, 2026 20:24 Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi, musicians Ehsan Beiraqdar and Soheil Faqih Nasiri, and six members of the production team for the Caravanserai Concert were ordered to be lashed 74 times by the Qom Provincial Criminal Court, Iranian human-rights groups and diaspora media outlets reported Thursday. The artists will also face a two-year travel ban and a two-year restriction on all artistic activity. The court ruled they had offended “public decency through the production and publication of obscene and immoral content on cyberspace platforms.” The artists and their team were first arrested after their performance was broadcast on YouTube last December. They were ordered to appear before the Prosecutor’s Office for Moral Security in January. The court prosecuted them under Articles 638 of the Islamic Penal Code and 743 of the Computer Crimes Law, BBC Persian reported. Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code criminalizes the performance of any “open religious taboo” or acts that offend public decency, such as appearing without a hijab. Article 743 criminalizes the promotion or encouragement of corruption, prostitution, or acts deemed offensive to public morality via digital networks. Women singing not against Iranian law
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