Iranian Singer Tataloo Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy

Iran’s Supreme Court has sentenced popular singer Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, also known as Tataloo, to death on charges of blasphemy.

This decision comes after the court accepted the prosecutor’s objection to a previous five-year jail term.

According to Reformist Newspaper Etemad, “The Supreme Court accepted the prosecutor’s objection” to the initial sentence, which included blasphemy among other offenses. The court reopened the case, resulting in a death sentence for “insulting the prophet,” referring to Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.

The report added that the verdict was not final and can still be appealed.

The 37-year-old underground musician had been living in Istanbul since 2018 before Turkish police handed him over to Iran in December 2023.

He has been in detention in Iran since then.

In addition to the blasphemy charges, Tataloo was also sentenced to 10 years for promoting “prostitution” and faced charges for disseminating “propaganda” against the Islamic republic and publishing “obscene content.”

AFP