A court in Qom sentenced Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of her band and production team to 74 lashes each, along with a two-year travel ban for Ahmadi, over a live-streamed concert in which she performed without a hijab, according to IranWire and The Jerusalem Post. The ruling is preliminary and subject to appeal.

The performance took place on December 11, 2024, at Dayr-e Gachin Caravanserai, a historic site from Iran's Safavid era, and was streamed live on YouTube. Ahmadi sang "Mara Bebous" without a hijab alongside musicians Ehsan Beiraqdar and Soheil Faqih Nasiri. Iranian authorities arrested Ahmadi three days later in Sari City, the capital of Mazandaran province in northern Iran, according to AP News. Prosecutors charged her not only for the concert but also for what they called an "obscene" music video.

The sentence applies to the entire group: both musicians and all six production staff members received 74 lashes alongside Ahmadi, per The Jerusalem Post and IranWire. The sentences also include artistic bans—professional restrictions that would prohibit them from working in Iran's creative industries if the ruling is upheld on appeal.

Iran's mandatory hijab law has been enforced with increasing legal severity since the nationwide protests in 2022 following Mahsa Amini's death in police custody. Flogging is a recognized punishment under Iran's Islamic Penal Code. The 74-lash sentence falls within the range for ta'zir offenses—discretionary violations handled by judges—rather than the more severe hadd category, which carries fixed Quranic penalties. Yet the practical consequence extends beyond physical punishment: such rulings produce documented self-censorship and professional caution across creative sectors, affecting people far beyond those directly sentenced.

Why the entire production team faced charges deserves attention. By holding sound engineers, camera operators, and logistics staff criminally liable for a performer's choices, the judiciary raises the legal risk for anyone involved in potentially sensitive projects. This approach serves as collective deterrence—it discourages collaboration itself.

The venue carried symbolic weight that adds another layer to this case. Dayr-e Gachin Caravanserai is one of Iran's oldest surviving caravanserais, built during the Safavid period, and Ahmadi's bareheaded performance in a space tied to national cultural heritage was a deliberate statement, not a random staging choice. That framing gave the concert significance beyond what a purely online broadcast typically carries.

Appeal outcomes in Iran's legal system are unpredictable. Higher courts have in some prominent cases reduced sentences following diplomatic or reputational pressure, though the pattern since 2022 has tilted more toward upholding or escalating convictions. For Ahmadi and her collaborators, the travel ban and professional restrictions may prove more consequential in the near term than the lashes themselves—these can be enforced whether or not the physical sentence is carried out.