Iranian star slapped with 74 barbaric lashes for belting out patriotic song without a hijab on

An Iranian music sensation, and an eight-person production team, were reportedly sentenced to 74 brutal lashings for the singer’s viral patriotic tune which she performed without a hijab on.Parastoo Ahmadi, 29, and other artists were slapped with the savage flogging by the criminal court of Qom province over a livestream performance from December 2024, according to court documents reviewed by the Guardian.Ahmadi sang the patriotic track “As Khoone Javane Vatan” — which translates to “From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland” in Persian — without donning a hijab, considered a Muslim symbol of religious devotion, the outlet reported.The video prompted authorities to file a formal case — though some human rights advocates said the barbaric sentence has no legal grounding.The folk artist and other musicians were reportedly briefly detained for the livestream, which racked up millions of views on YouTube — but were eventually released.In addition to the gruesome lashes, Iranian authorities sentenced Ahmadi and the crew to a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year ban on engaging in artistic activities.“Singing, performing music and producing or disseminating musical works by women are not criminalised under Iranian criminal law,” Moein Khazaeli, a human rights lawyer, told the outlet.“Consequently, such activities cannot reasonably be construed as the ‘production, distribution or publication of obscene content.'”Though Iran’s official judiciary news agency has not yet published the ruling, rights groups and lawyers who reviewed the filings argued a surge in cases against artists shows the theocratic regime’s intent to viciously crack down on cultural dissent, the Guardian reported.“Ahmadi’s punishment of 74 lashes for merely singing and appearing without a hijab is yet another reminder that human rights conditions in Iran have not changed, despite the Iranian authorities’ wartime propaganda campaign aimed at improving ...