Iran Calibrates Lashing Sentences to Sidestep Legal Safeguards

Iranian courts sentenced singer Parastoo Ahmadi and multiple co-performers to 74 lashes for performing without hijabs. The precise figure matters: sentences of 75 lashes or more trigger heightened evidentiary standards and procedural protections under Iranian law. By staying just beneath that threshold, courts signal severity while avoiding constraints that would slow prosecutions. It's a legal mechanism courts routinely use in discretionary punishment cases.