The Pop Corporation

Tataloo is an Iranian singer and, once upon a time, he was deemed culturally significant enough to be used by ultra conservative politicians to get the ear of the nation’s liberal youth.

However, a court in Iran has decided that the performer should be executed, after an appeal against a five year prison sentence. Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo has been sentenced to death, convicted of blasphemy.

“The supreme court accepted the prosecutor’s objection” to a previous five-year jail term on offences including blasphemy, newspaper Etemad reported. It continued that “the case was reopened, and this time the defendant was sentenced to death for insulting the prophet.”

While the verdict is not final, and can be appealed against, this is still appalling news. Maghsoudloo had been living in Istanbul since 2018, but Turkish police handed him over to Iranians in December 2023, where he’s been detained ever since.

This is not the only sentence Tataloo has been hit with, as he was also given 10 years for promoting “prostitution” and disseminating “propaganda” against the Islamic Republic, as well as publishing “obscene content”.

Speaking in his defence while on trial, Tataloo said: “I have certainly made mistakes and many of my behaviours have been wrong – I apologise for my mistakes.”

Within Iran, this will be huge news as Tataloo is one of the most famous musicians in the country, collaborating with Universal Music Group (the same label as Kendrick, Post Malone, The Bee Gees, Billie Eilish and countless others) and was even responsible for the Iran national team’s World Cup song in 2014.

In 2024, at least 901 people were executed in Iran, which is the highest death toll of that nature in around a decade.