Iran: Rapper Amir Tatalu sentenced to death – Arrested in Turkey

In a second-degree death sentence, Amir Tatalu was convicted, after his court found him guilty of “blasphemy”, as the Iranian media broadcast. “The Supreme Court of Iran accepted the prosecutor’s appeal” on the previous five-year prison sentence and this time the accused was sentenced to death for blasphemy towards the prophet” Muhammad, wrote on the website of the newspaper Etemad, regarding the 37-year-old rapper. CORVERSE The singer and composer, one of the pioneers of Iranian rap, began his career in the early 2000s. In 2018 he settled in Istanbul, after Iranian authorities refused him permission to practice the musician’s profession. In December 2023, Iranian justice announced that the rapper was handed over to Iran by the Turkish authorities on the basis of a Tehran revolutionary court order. His trial began in March 2024 on the charge of “encouraging the new generation in prostitution”, “propaganda against the Islamic Republic” and “spreading obscene content in the form of clips and songs”. ADVERSE An Iranian court has sentenced Amirhossein Maghsoudloo, a famous and instrumental singler better known as Amir Tataloo, to die on charges of blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad, Iranian media reported Sunday. — Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) Prior to his departure for Turkey, Amir Tatalu had been arrested many times and one of them, in 2016, “for harassment of public opinion”. See this post on Instagram. Who is Amir Tataloo AmirHossein Maghsoudloo, known professionally as Amir Tataloo, is an Iranian singer, rapper, singer. He is one of Iran’s most famous and controversial artists for tattoos covering his entire body and face as well as his frequent open dialogue on the political and social aspects of Iran’s younger generations. He is a member of the first generation of the Iranian underground hip hop scene and also one of the first R&B singers in Persian. He is currently in Iran and is arrested for criticizing the Iranian government’s human rights history in his songs and social media. Known for his tattoos with which he is covered from head to foot, Iranian rapper had caused war in 2017 when he met with ultra-conservative President Emprahim Raisi, killed during the crash of his helicopter in May 2024. In 2015 he wrote a song to support the Iranian nuclear program after signing the international agreement between the international community and Tehran. See this post on Instagram. It’s got a big fan base. In 2021, Tataloo broke the record of most YouTube comments, with a video for Ye Saram Be Ma Bezan’s song reaching 19 million comments. In 2019, Tataloo asked fans to break the suspension record with most comments on Instagram, which was at the time 10 million comments. Fans broke the record with 18 million comments. After that, various political critics discussed its phenomenon and impact on society. Academics such as Sadegh Zibakalam and Emaddedin Baghi wrote papers on this event. Another record was shot down in 2020, when Tataloo made a live broadcast with 626,000 spectators. On 28 January 2020, Tataloo was arrested by Turkish police in Istanbul, with an Interpol red alert for him. He was released on February 3rd, with Turkish police citing his detention as a visa violation. At that time, an electronic petition had reached nearly half a million signatures, aimed at releasing it. In May 2020, Tataloo challenged after arguing that minors under the age of 16 would be able to marry and invited fans, minors at the time, to join his harem. On 2 December 2023, he claimed that he intends to return to Iran, many read his action due to his complaints in Turkey. He was eventually handed over to the Iranian government on 6 December 2023 at the land border of Iran and Turkey and was immediately arrested due to charges and complaints such as corruption.