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An appeals court in the holy city of Qom rejected the challenge to the original verdict without holding a hearing, defence lawyers told BBC Persian on Friday. The ruling confirms convictions against the 29-year-old singer, two named musicians and six production staff for offending public decency through the online dissemination of material the court labelled vulgar and immoral. The performance featured Ahmadi singing a patriotic folk song while wearing a sleeveless black dress with her hair, arms and shoulders uncovered in a historic caravanserai that was livestreamed on her YouTube channel.
Court records reviewed by The Guardian and reported by The Jerusalem Post showed the group was prosecuted under Article 638 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, which addresses acts contrary to public decency, and Article 743 of the Computer Crimes Law concerning online content. The original June ruling by the Qom Provincial Criminal Court also imposed two-year prohibitions on leaving the country and on all audiovisual artistic activities for all nine defendants. One defence lawyer stated that the court had selected one of the harshest available penalties even though fines or lighter sanctions could have been imposed.
Ahmadi’s December 2024 livestream of the piece titled “From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland” quickly accumulated millions of views before authorities detained her and several members of the team, according to multiple human rights monitors. The artists were released pending trial but faced formal proceedings over the publication that Iranian state media described as violating legal and cultural regulations on female performers. A person close to Ahmadi’s family told The New York Times that two of those sentenced were outside Iran when the initial verdict was announced.
Human rights organisations have documented a sharp increase in such prosecutions in recent years. A 2025 annual report compiled by Iran Human Rights recorded flogging sentences issued to at least 70 individuals totalling more than 3,300 lashes across a range of cases. The Norway-based group said the Ahmadi ruling forms part of a broader pattern targeting women who challenge compulsory hijab rules that have been enforced since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Bahar Ghandehari, director of advocacy at the Center for Human Rights in Iran, described the lashes as a reminder that conditions have not eased despite official messaging. Speaking to The Guardian after the initial sentencing, she noted the case underscored that human rights had not improved even amid wartime propaganda efforts to enhance the authorities’ image. Lawyer Moein Khazaeli separately argued that Iranian criminal law does not criminalise women singing or performing music, making the application of obscenity provisions legally unfounded.
The decision comes amid continued scrutiny of entertainers, with Iranian media reporting fresh cases opened against actors and production companies for other perceived moral infractions on stage and online. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, executive director of Iran Human Rights, warned in remarks carried by The Seattle Times that the punishment signals a possible tightening of controls on women following recent shifts in the country’s international position. Ahmadi herself announced the finality of the ruling via an Instagram post, confirming that the appeals chamber had upheld every element of the original penalties without alteration.
