Over 250 Iranian Artists: The Whip on Mehdi Yarahyi's Body is a Whip on Humanity

More than 250 members of Iran's artistic community have protested the implementation of a flogging sentence against Mehdi Yarahyi, a dissenting singer, stating that "the whip on the body of an artist is a whip on humanity." These artists, on Wednesday, March 22, expressed their support for Mr. Yarahyi in a statement warning about the "social and cultural consequences of punishments, pressures, and disrespect towards popular artists" by the authorities of the Islamic Republic. Mehdi Yarahyi's lawyer announced on Wednesday, March 15, the full execution of the flogging sentence against his client in the fourth branch of the Tehran Moral Security Prosecutor's Office, which Mr. Yarahyi confirmed hours later. This singer, who has accompanied the nationwide protests of "Women, Life, Freedom" with his protest songs, thanked those who supported him and referred to the flogging sentence, stating: "He who is not willing to pay a price for freedom is not worthy of freedom." Over 250 Iranian artists stated in their declaration that Mehdi Yarahyi "has always borne the pain of the people and preferred dignity over humiliation," asserting that this singer "deserves the highest honors and accolades, not a cruel and medieval sentence like flogging." They noted the increasing "disrespect" of the Iranian government towards popular artists and women in music, declaring that the authorities are attempting "to silence every dissenting voice through summons, threats, job bans, imprisonment, and ankle bracelets." Signatories of this statement include Hana Kamkar, Sepideh Roshno, Tomaj Salehi, Jafar Panahi, Mojgan Ilanlou, Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, Behtash Sanaeiha, Reza Kianian, and Mohammad Rasoulof. Previously, the implementation of Mehdi Yarahyi's flogging sentence had faced negative reactions from many Iranian artists, including Dariush Eghbali and Taraneh Alidoosti, as well as civil activists like Arash Sadeghi, Hossein Ronaghi, Hamed Esmaeilioun, and Gohar Eshghi. On March 9, 1403, Mehdi Yarahyi explained his situation and the 74 lashes sentence related to the song "Rusari" in a video. He mentioned the court's ruling of two years and eight months of imprisonment, one year of which was enforceable, adding that he had also paid a monetary fine, but he did not request the cancellation of the 74 lashes. Mr. Yarahyi added that due to his physical condition, his prison sentence was converted to house arrest with an ankle bracelet, and "after the end of this period, we wanted to lift the bail, and they said it was conditional on the execution of the flogging sentence or that its status be clarified."