Widespread Reactions to Execution of Lashing Sentence on Mehdi Yarrahi

The execution of the lashing sentence on Mehdi Yarrahi, an Iranian protest singer, has sparked widespread reactions.

Following the announcement of the execution of 74 lashes on Mehdi Yarrahi, an Iranian protest singer, widespread protests and expressions of solidarity with him have ensued. The publication of this news in international media has also garnered extensive coverage.

Mehdi Yarrahi, an Iranian protest singer, released the song “Rosareto Darbiar” in September 2023, and was immediately arrested by intelligence officials after its release. He was temporarily released in October with a 15 billion toman bail. Since the beginning of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, he has sung several protest songs and announced his support for the people through their dissemination.

In December 2023, he was sentenced to two years and eight months imprisonment and 74 lashes, with one year of his sentence being enforceable. His lawyers stated that the charges against him were “incitement to corruption and indecency,” “production and dissemination of immoral and indecent content,” “incitement and insigation of individuals to commit moral crimes and propaganda against the system.”

Many civil activists and artists considered the sentence against him a repressive measure and a sign of the government’s fear of the power of art and freedom of expression. They believe that such sentences not only do not silence the voice of protest, but rather strengthen the power and resilience of popular movements.

Zahra Minuei, Mehdi Yarrahi’s lawyer, announced the execution of his 74 lashes on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. She stated that following the execution of this sentence, his case has been completely closed.

Before the execution of the sentence, Mehdi Yarrahi posted a message on social media describing the lashing sentence as “inhumane torture,” saying: “I am ready for the execution of this sentence and have no request for its cancellation.” After the execution of the lashing sentence, he posted another message expressing gratitude for the support of the people and his lawyers, writing: “He who is not willing to pay a price for freedom does not deserve freedom.”

The execution of this protest singer’s sentence has sparked extensive reactions both inside and outside Iran. Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist, described the execution of Yarrahi’s sentence as revenge for his support of Iranian women, calling on everyone to be his voice. She posted on Instagram: “The lash on Mehdi’s body is a whip on the bodies of proud, resistant Iranian women and on the vibrant and powerful spirit of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.”

In recent days, Mehdi Yarrahi released a video about holding a concert, saying he stands with Iranian women and will never seek permission to hold a concert. Even if permission were granted, due to the gender discrimination that exists against women in Iran, he would not hold a concert because he considers it exploitation of “gender privilege.”

Narges Mohammadi, referring to Mehdi Yarrahi’s message about not holding a concert, wrote: “On the eve of International Women’s Day, by rejecting gender privilege for singing, Mehdi Yarrahi once again stood with protesting women rights advocates and the people.”

Mohsen Borhani, a lawyer, legal scholar and university professor, criticized the lashing of Mehdi Yarrahi and posted on X: “According to Article 134 of the Regulations on the Implementation of Sentences of Limits, Execution, Lashing, etc., approved in 2019 and existing procedures, the method of implementing discretionary lashing is usually carried out in a way that does not involve pain but is highly humiliating and violates the dignity of the condemned person. Artists should be respected, not humiliated.”

Mostafa Nili, one of Mehdi Yarrahi’s lawyers, responding to Mohsen Borhani’s comments, wrote: “It was expected that the execution of Mehdi Yarrahi’s lashing sentence would be an opportunity to address the fact that lashing is a human rights violation and efforts should be made to eliminate it.”

He also stated that he was standing behind the door during the execution of the lashing sentence and heard the sound of the lashes on Mehdi’s body. He wrote: “I am confident that if you, like me, had been behind the door at the place of execution and heard the sound of the lashes on Mr. Mehdi Yarrahi’s body and his cry of thanks to God, and seen his painful face with a smile on his lips after the execution, and if you knew that since yesterday they have not even been able to lean their back anywhere, you would never have made such comments.”

Moghan Shajarian, the daughter of maestro Mohammad Reza Shajarian, posted on Instagram with a video of Mehdi Yarrahi: “O man of righteousness and courage, the pain of every unjust lash on your steadfast body has settled in our souls and the beautiful story of your resistance has been a balm for the wounds of the daily whips of time on our suffering bodies. I bow to your courage, steadfastness and honor, standing like a mountain beside all your female compatriots.”

Mohammad Rasoulof, a filmmaker, posted on Instagram: “Dear Mehdi, you well know that the lashes on your body are not a sign of strength, but a sign of fear. Your voice has shaken the rotten walls of religious tyranny, and now millions of Iranians are humming your songs. Their tools of repression become more discredited every day. We will not go backward; in the face of the brutality of this oppressive power, we still have art.”

Hamed Farrad, a protest rapper, also posted an Instagram story in reaction to the execution of this sentence with a photo of Mehdi Yarrahi: “Dear Mehdi Yarrahi, today when I heard the news of the execution of the unjust sentence of 74 lashes on your body, it was as if each lash fell on the soul and heart of every individual of this land. You who have always been the voice of the voiceless, stood with the people and defended the women of your land. Today you paid the price of truth-telling and honor with cruel wounds. But know that these wounds are not on your body. This pain is a wound on the soul of all of us.”

Saba Zamani and Ardavan Hatami, Iranian singers, also released a short musical piece with poetry by Mehdi Mousavi in support of Yarrahi on social media, writing: “Let it reach Mehdi. Nothing will bring us to our knees. Not lashes, not prison, not bullets, not batons, and not execution. We are Iran.”