{"id":951768,"date":"2026-07-22T12:10:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T12:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/951768\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T12:10:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T12:10:18","slug":"this-image-led-to-a-photographer-being-sentenced-to-74-lashes-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/951768\/","title":{"rendered":"This Image Led to a Photographer Being Sentenced to 74 Lashes in Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"APhoto by Tahmineh Monzavi<\/a><\/p>\n

This striking portrait of an Iranian singer in a black dress, her hair uncovered, has come at a devastating cost for the photographer who captured it \u2014 resulting in a sentence of 74 lashes, a travel ban, and a prohibition on artistic activity.<\/p>\n

Tahmineh Monzavi<\/a> is an acclaimed Iranian documentary photographer who has had her work exhibited in museums across the world. Monzavi\u2019s work focuses on women and marginalized communities in the Iranian capital of Tehran.<\/p>\n

In December 2024, Monzavi photographed and filmed a concert by Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi, who is known in the country\u2019s dissident circles. During the performance, which was livestreamed on Ahmadi\u2019s YouTube channel, the singer performed the patriotic song Az Khoone Javanane Vatan (From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland) without wearing a hijab. Monzavi\u2019s photographs from the concert included the image (above) that was later exhibited at Photo London.<\/a><\/p>\n

The concert quickly went viral on YouTube<\/a>, and Ahmadi was briefly detained and charged alongside several musicians shortly after its release, before being freed. However, according to a report by The New World,<\/a> Monzavi has now also been charged by Iranian authorities over filming and photographing the performance.<\/p>\n

\"Black-and-whiteTahmineh Monzavi in Tehran, Iran | Image by Tahmineh Monzavi via Wikimedia Commons\/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a><\/p>\n

The New World reports that Monzavi, along with other members of the production team, has been accused of \u201coffending public decency\u201d and the publication of vulgar and immoral \u201ccontent online.\u201d For the offence of taking photographs, Monzavi has now been detained, given a two-year travel ban, a two-year restriction on \u201cartistic activity\u201d and sentenced to be viciously flogged with 74 lashes. The punishment is carried out with a three-foot whip, and the pain is reportedly so intense that some victims lose consciousness after only a few strikes. <\/p>\n

\u2018No One Can Separate Me From Photography\u2019<\/p>\n

In 2012, Monzavi was previously arrested<\/a> and imprisoned after her photographs of drug users and sex workers in poorer areas of Tehran were deemed \u201cdangerous to society\u201d by Iranian authorities. She spent a month in solitary confinement, and the experience was so traumatic that she said she lost her \u201ccourage as a documentary photographer\u201d and stepped away from her work for two years.<\/p>\n

But Monzavi tells The New World that photography remains a powerful way for her to express what she and others in Iran are experiencing.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one can separate me from photography. I want people to understand what we are feeling,\u201d she says. \u201cYou know, many people, many young girls, paid their blood for us. They didn\u2019t think that they would be killed in the street. It is a horrible, horrible business but their spirit will survive. They are strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Image creditsAll photos by Tahmineh Monzavi<\/a>.<\/p>\n