Parastoo Ahmadi sang while wearing a sleeveless dress during a concert livestreamed on her YouTube channel in December 2024. Iran’s laws ban public performances by women and require them to wear headscarves and modest clothing.
Iran’s judiciary launched proceedings against the 29-year-old after the video went viral, gaining millions of views, saying the performance was “in violation of the country’s legal and cultural regulations”.
Most of them were killed in December and January trying to do just that. I’ve seen estimates as high as 50,000, but most are reporting 30,000-36,000.
The exact numbers are impossible to verify because Iran shut down the entire country’s internet to cover it up.