Iranian pop star Tataloo sentenced to death for blasphemy

An Iranian court increased Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo’s five-year prison sentence to the death penalty after a prosecutor's appeal, local media reports reveal, The Guardian reports.

Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, widely recognized as Tataloo, has been sentenced to death on charges of blasphemy. According to the reformist newspaper Etemad, Iran’s Supreme Court accepted a prosecutor’s objection to an earlier five-year prison sentence, leading to the case being reopened.

“This time, the defendant was sentenced to death for insulting the Prophet,” the report noted, referring to the Prophet Muhammad, a central figure in Islam. The ruling, however, is not yet final and remains subject to appeal.

The 37-year-old artist had resided in Istanbul since 2018 before being extradited to Iran by Turkish authorities in December 2023. He has been detained in Iran since then.