Published 14:54 IST, January 20th 2025
Iran Awards Death Sentence to Singer for 'Insulting' Prophet Muhammed
Tataloo, a 37-year-old underground musician, is known for his blend of rap, pop, and R&B, often courting controversy with his bold lyrics and tattoos.

Iranian Singer Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, popularly known as Tataloo, has reportedly been sentenced to death by an Iranian court on charges of blasphemy. According to AFP, the Supreme Court overturned his earlier five-year jail sentence, reopened the case, and handed him the death penalty for ‘insulting the Prophet,’ referring to Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
“The Supreme Court accepted the prosecutor’s objection” to a previous five-year jail term, and “the case was reopened, and this time the defendant was sentenced to death for insulting the prophet,” reformist newspaper Etemad.
The Judiciary's media office, however, has refuted the report, calling death sentence report ‘premature.’ It clarified that Tataloo could still seek legal reprieve under restorative justice provisions. The judiciary stated, “Leniency measures are part of our criminal law framework to assist convicts in line with the restorative justice approach," according to reports.
Tataloo, a 37-year-old underground musician, is known for his blend of rap, pop, and R&B, often involved in controversy because of his bold lyrics and tattoos. He had been living in Istanbul since 2018 to avoid legal troubles in Iran. However, in December 2023, Turkish authorities extradited him to Iran, where he faced multiple trials starting in March 2024.
The singer has been accused of promoting 'prostitution,' disseminating 'propaganda' against the Islamic Republic, and publishing 'obscene content.' Despite his legal troubles, Tataloo In 2017 participated in a televised meeting with then-President Ebrahim Raisi, an ultra-conservative leader, in an effort to appeal to younger, liberal-minded Iranians. Raisi later died in a helicopter crash in 2024.
In addition to his blasphemy conviction, Tataloo had previously made headlines in 2015 when he released a song supporting Iran's nuclear program, which became controversial during international negotiations with US.
Updated 15:02 IST, January 20th 2025