Iran on Saturday arrested a female singer for not wearing a hijab while performing during an online concert on YouTube.
A case was filed against the woman on Thursday following her performance on Wednesday. Two male musicians accompanying her, Ehsan Beiraghdar and Soheil Faghih-Nassiri, were also arrested.
Who is Parastoo Ahmadi?
Parastoo Ahmadi is a 27-year-old singer from Nowshahr in northern Iran. Born in 1997, she graduated in directing from Soore University in Tehran.
Parastoo is also a pianist. She has 47,800 subscribers on YouTube and 7,300 monthly listeners on Spotify.
In the video, the singer introduces herself: "I am Parastoo; a girl who wants to sing for the people she loves... this is a right I could not forsake."
The video shot at a caravanserai, a traditional roadside inn in Iran, had received 1.6 million views till Sunday morning.
This is not the first time Parastoo had a run in with the authorities. She performed a rendition of Az Khoon-e Javanan-e Vatan (From the Blood of the Youth of the Nation) during the 2022 anti-veil protests.
In 2022, a woman named Mahsa Amini died in custody after being arrested for violating the dress code. Several women took to streets, removing and burning their headscarves.
Earlier, a female student, named Ahoo Daryaei stripped down to her underwear to protest "abusive" dress code policing at a Tehran university.
Later, some men in plain clothes were seen bundling her into a car and driving off to an unknown location. Local reports suggested that she was admitted to a mental health facility. Amnesty International has urged the Iranian authorities to release Daryaei "immediately and unconditionally".
