Iran arrests singer after performing hijab-free concert on YouTube

Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi was detained on December 14 after holding a YouTube concert without a hijab.

"As of noon today, we did not know about the situation of my client, Parastoo Ahmadi. Unfortunately we learned that she was arrested today in Mazandaran province," Ahmadi’s lawyer Milad Panahipour said, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Local media also reported the arrest of two of Ahmadi's musicians, Ehsan Birghidar and Sohail Faqih Nasiri. The arrests follow Ahmadi's concert on December 11, where she performed in defiance of Iran's strict morality laws for women.

In addition to the mandatory hijab law, women in Iran are also prohibited from singing publicly.

In the introduction to her performance, Ahmadi said: "I want to sing for the people I love. This is a right that I could not ignore; singing for the land that I love dearly." 

Ahmadi performed the concert without an audience but streamed it live on her YouTube channel. Despite Iran's restrictions on YouTube, the concert garnered 74,000 views within 12 hours of being broadcast. 

After the performance went viral, security agents raided her home, and she was summoned to the Tehran Security Prosecutor's Office for questioning. Iranian authorities announced that she would face trial immediately following the concert's online broadcast. 

A relatively recent law in the country criminalizes the promotion or dissemination of indecency, refusal to wear the hijab, and inappropriate behavior, with violators facing up to 10 years in prison and, in some cases, even the death penalty.

By Naila Huseynova