Amnesty International has called for an immediate halt to the execution of the flogging sentences imposed on Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight musicians and members of her accompanying crew. The case stems from the publication of a 2024 concert video in which Ahmadi performed without mandatory hijab.
According to Parastoo Ahmadi’s lawyer, Branch 16 of the Qom Province Court of Appeal has upheld the convictions of Ahmadi and the other defendants in the case. Each individual has been sentenced to 74 lashes, a two year travel ban, and a two year ban from engaging in artistic activities.
Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, described flogging as torture and a cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, calling on Islamic Republic authorities to refrain from carrying out these sentences. Amnesty International also called for the abolition of corporal punishment, mandatory hijab laws, and the criminalization of peaceful forms of freedom of expression.
Imposing 74 lashes in connection with a musical performance constitutes a form of judicial violence that has no place in standard legal systems or contemporary human rights standards. Responding to artistic expression with corporal punishment is not a conventional judicial response, but a direct assault on freedom of expression, artistic freedom, and human dignity, standing in direct conflict with the absolute prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under international law.