Amnesty International's call for Iran to halt the planned flogging of singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight others is the central claim under review, and it is well supported by multiple independent sources.
The BBC reported on September 28, 2026, that an appeals court in Iran had confirmed a sentence of 74 lashes against Ahmadi, a 29-year-old singer who performed without the mandatory hijab during a livestreamed concert. The BBC noted that in addition to the lashes, the defendants were banned from audiovisual activities and from leaving the country for two years. The BBC also quoted Amnesty International's warning that "flogging constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and violates the absolute prohibition on torture and other ill treatment." The Guardian, reporting on September 30, 2026, added that Ahmadi and eight members of her production team were sentenced in June by a court in Qom, and that the appeals court upheld the verdict the previous week. The Guardian also noted that Ahmadi and her production crew are expected to be punished with lashings within the next three months.
Iran International's article, which is the source context for the claim, provides the same core details: the June sentencing, the 74 lashes, the two-year travel ban, the two-year ban on artistic activities, and the September 25 appeals court ruling in Qom that made the sentences final and enforceable. The article also includes Amnesty's characterization of flogging as "cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment" and its broader call to abolish compulsory hijab rules and corporal punishment in Iran.
A Persian-language report from Euronews dated October 2, 2026, independently confirms the same facts: the June 2026 sentencing by a criminal court in Qom province, the 74 lashes each, the two-year travel ban, the two-year artistic activity ban, and the September 25 ruling by the 16th branch of the Qom appeals court that rejected the defendants' appeal. The Euronews report also quotes Amnesty's demand that Iranian authorities "immediately halt any plans to carry out floggings" against Ahmadi and the eight others.
The key facts align across all four sources: the Amnesty call, the 74-lash sentence, the travel and artistic activity bans, the September 25 appeals court decision in Qom, and the context of the 2024 livestreamed concert performed without a hijab. The only minor variation is that the BBC describes the appeals court decision as occurring "on Friday" without specifying the date, while the other sources pinpoint September 25, 2026 — but this is consistent with the BBC's September 28 publication date. The New Arab article, which lacks a reliable date, also corroborates the core facts including the 74 lashes and the Qom appeals court ruling.
The claim is supported. The evidence from the BBC, The Guardian, Iran International, and Euronews Persian all independently confirm the substance of the claim with consistent dates, locations, actors, and sentencing details.
