Iranian singer Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, also known as Tataloo, was sentenced to death on Monday on appeal after being convicted of blasphemy, news agency AFP reported quoting local media reports.
Etemad, a reformist newspaper, reported that “the Supreme Court accepted the prosecutor’s objection” to a previous five-year prison sentence for charges, including blasphemy.
It added that “the case was reopened, and this time the defendant was sentenced to death for insulting the prophet,” referring to Prophet Mohammed. The verdict, however, is not final and can still be appealed.
In addition to the death sentence, Tataloo was previously sentenced to 10 years for promoting “prostitution” and faced charges of spreading “propaganda” against the Islamic Republic and publishing “obscene content.”
Tataloo, 37, has been in detention in Iran since being handed over by Turkish authorities in December 2023. Earlier, he had been living in Istanbul since 2018.
Known for combining rap, pop, and R&B, Tataloo had previously interacted with conservative politicians in Iran to engage with younger Iranians. In 2017, he appeared on television with then-President Ebrahim Raisi, who later died in a helicopter crash.
In 2015, Tataloo released a song in support of Iran’s nuclear program, which came to an end in 2018 during Donald Trump’s presidency.
