Iran rejects musician’s appeal against 74 lashes — Jerusalem Post
In Iran, a court rejected musician Parastoo Ahmadi’s appeal against a sentence of 74 lashes and a two-year ban on any artistic activity. As The Jerusalem Post reports, the decision upheld the ruling of the Criminal Court of Qom Province against Ahmadi, musicians Ehsan Beyrakdar and Soheil Faghih Nasiri, as well as six members of the production team.
Performance without a hijab
The court found that Ahmadi’s performance without a hijab violated “public morality through the production and publication of obscene and immoral content on cyberspace platforms.” The musician was detained after her performance was broadcast on YouTube in December last year.
Article 638 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code provides for criminal liability for publicly violating religious prohibitions or committing acts that offend public morality, including appearing without a hijab. Article 743 criminalizes promoting or encouraging corruption, prostitution, or acts considered contrary to public morality through digital networks.
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Cases against actors and race participants
Iranian authorities also opened a criminal case against a production company following a video featuring actors Fatemeh Masoudifar and Merdad Sedighian. In the production Tehran Paris Tehran, they played brother and sister; footage recorded by an audience member shows minor physical contact between them. The judiciary’s Mizan agency reported that prosecutors responded to conduct they considered to violate social norms and standards of decency.
At the same time, the theater company, according to Iran International, said the camera angle in the video was misleading and that the actors did not actually touch each other. Separately, authorities threatened legal action against the organizers of a race in Tehran’s Velayat Park after a video emerged showing women in clothing that officials believed did not comply with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s modesty requirements.
