In a significant legal ruling, an Iranian court has sentenced popular rapper Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, known as Tataloo, to death for blasphemy. This decision comes after the Supreme Court accepted the prosecutor's objection to a previous five-year prison sentence, which included charges of blasphemy. The ruling was announced on January 21, 2025.
According to local media, the case was reopened, and Tataloo was convicted of insulting the Prophet Mohammed. The verdict is not final and can still be appealed.
The 37-year-old musician, recognized as a pioneer of Iranian underground rap, had been living in Istanbul since 2018 until he was deported back to Iran by Turkish authorities in December 2023. His deportation followed the Iranian government's refusal to grant him a work permit in the music sector. He has since remained in detention in Iran.
Previously, Tataloo was sentenced to ten years in prison for promoting prostitution and faced other charges, including spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic and publishing obscene content.
Once courted by conservative politicians to connect with Iran's liberal youth, Tataloo had a notable televised meeting with ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raisi in 2017, who later died in a helicopter crash in May 2024. In 2015, he released a song supporting Iran's nuclear program, which collapsed in 2018 during Donald Trump's first presidency.