Iranian Court Sentences Pop Singer Tataloo to Death Over Blasphemy
An Iranian court has sentenced the popular singer Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, known as Tataloo, to death on appeal after he was convicted of blasphemy, according to local media reports.
“The Supreme Court accepted the prosecutor’s objection” to a previous five-year jail term for offences including blasphemy, the reformist newspaper Etemad reported online.
The article stated, “The case was reopened, and this time the defendant was sentenced to death for insulting the Prophet,” referring to Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.
Furthermore, the report mentioned that the verdict is not final and can still be appealed.
The 37-year-old underground musician had been living in Istanbul since 2018 until Turkish police handed him over to Iran in December 2023.
He has been in detention in Iran since that time.
Tataloo had previously been sentenced to 10 years for promoting “prostitution,” and he faced other charges including disseminating “propaganda” against the Islamic Republic and publishing “obscene content.”
Known for his heavy tattoos and his unique blend of rap, pop, and R&B, Tataloo was once courted by conservative politicians as a way to connect with young, liberal-minded Iranians.
In 2017, he even held an awkward televised meeting with ultra-conservative Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who later died in a helicopter crash.
In 2015, Tataloo released a song in support of Iran’s nuclear program, which faced backlash after the first US presidency of Donald Trump in 2018.
