Iranian Singer Mehdi Yarrahi Lashed 74 Times for Protest Song Against Hijab Law
Iranian singer and musician Mehdi Yarrahi was subjected to 74 lashes as part of his punishment for supporting nationwide protests, according to his lawyer.
Yarrahi, 42, was arrested in August 2023 and sentenced by the Tehran Revolutionary Court to two years and eight months in prison, along with the flogging. He ultimately served one year of his sentence and was fined in addition to receiving the lashes, which were administered in full.
The charges against him stemmed from the release of a song deemed "against the morals and customs of Islamic society." The song, titled Roosarito—Farsi for "your headscarf"—contained lyrics encouraging women to remove their veils, with lines such as, "Take off your scarf, the sun is sinking. Take off your scarf, let your hair flow."
Yarrahi was detained four days after releasing the song. His arrest came shortly before widespread protests erupted in Iran to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman who died in the custody of the morality police after being detained for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.
Human rights groups have condemned Iran's hijab laws and the severe punishments imposed for violations. In December, Amnesty International reported that authorities had intensified measures against non-compliance, including the threat of the death penalty, floggings, and lengthy prison sentences.
Other artists in Iran have faced similar penalties. Acclaimed filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof was sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging in 2023 for alleged national security offenses. In 2015, two Iranian poets were each sentenced to 99 lashes for shaking hands with members of the opposite sex, in addition to prison terms for "insulting the sacred" in their writings.
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