Who Is Amir Tataloo, Iran's Tattooed Rap Star Now Facing Death Sentence
Iran's Supreme Court has sentenced renowned pop singer Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, popularly known as Tataloo, to death after he was convicted of blasphemy, including insulting the Prophet Mohammed.
Earlier, he was handed a five-year prison sentence on similar charges; however, the case was later reopened following a prosecutor's objection. After the review, the court overturned the previous ruling and issued the death penalty in January this year.
Who Is Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, aka Tataloo?
He was born on September 21, 1987, in Tehran, Iran. Due to his family's financial condition, he started working as a carpenter when he was 14 while continuing his studies. During high school, between 16 and 18, he was employed at a grocery store. After completing his studies, he decided to follow his passion and began pursuing a career in music.
His first single, which he released in 2003, marked the beginning of his career as an underground musician. He recorded the song Manam Yeki az un Yazdahtam (I'm Also One of Those Eleven Players) for the Iranian National Football Team at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He is well-known for his distinctive fusion of pop, R&B, and rap.
He then released the pro-Iranian nuclear song Energy Hastei during the July 2015 Iran/5+1 nuclear talks in Vienna. The Iranian navy ship Damavand served as the production location for the song video. The song topped the Persian trending Google search. This song immediately caused controversy in Iran, mostly among Iranian Reformists who compared this song to Mohammadreza Shajarian's songs in support of the 2009 Iranian protests.
In 2016, he was arrested by the Iranian police, reportedly for promoting lyrics and a lifestyle that were seen as violating Islamic rules. In 2018, he moved to Turkey, where he created albums and organised big concerts. In 2020, he was under the spotlight again when he said that children under the age of 16 should be allowed to get married.
His first album, Zire Hamkaf, was released in 2021. Since then, he has put out 21 albums. He is the first Iranian to collaborate with Universal Music Group. He was handed over to Iran by Turkish authorities in 2023 and given a 10-year prison sentence for encouraging prostitution. He was also charged with disseminating propaganda against the Islamic Republic and spreading obscene content. He was given the death penalty in May after being found guilty of blasphemy in January.
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Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
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From HT Brunch, August 23, 2025 Follow us on
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
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Time of India
6 hours ago
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Are you so blind, deaf and brain-dead that you can't see children being bitten , mauled and killed on CCTV videos all over the place ?Can't you f…ing read the official reports on exploding… Take a look at how netizens reacted to this. Calling people 'brain-dead' doesn't make you intelligent. If you really care about kids' safety, shout at failed municipalities who ignored vaccination & sterilisation, not at dog lovers. Supreme Court said balance, not butchery. Hate speeches don't save lives responsible action… Nobody denies the danger of stray dog attacks kids' safety must come painting every dog lover as blind/brain-dead doesn't help. What's needed is urgent action + humane long-term solutions (vaccination, sterilization, shelters). Earlier satirical posts on animal lovers Earlier, on August 16, Varma had shared a series of posts criticizing animal lovers who opposed the Supreme Court's order. He offered satirical 'solutions' for critics, writing, 'Since you worship dogs more than humans, replace gods in temples with strays and pray to them for salvation.' Here are my 10 points addressing the DOG LOVERS who are UPSET about the SUPREME COURT'S decision on STRAY DOGS 1. People are being bitten and killed all over by stray dogs. And dog lovers are busy tweeting about dog rights.😳 can love your pets in your… He also said, 'If the dog lovers are blaming the government administrators, they should go and bite the officers and politicians on their legs.' And if the dog lovers are blaming the government administrators , they should go and bite the officers and politicians on their legs and also various other parts of their bodies for them to speed up on solutions .. But meanwhile they should think of the poor kids who are being… Check out a few more posts from him. Bottom line is anybody can love any god created creature whether it's a human , dog, cat , mosquito ,rat , corona virus etc as long as they are in their home , but here we are talking about stray dogs killing children on streets A dog is loyal only because it doesn't know how to be disloyal … and I say to all the radical dog lovers out there , when you say ' Dogs are better than humans ' it's a comment on the particular humans around you , and not really on your particular dogs Rich women carry their precious dogs on their shoulders, while their own babies are burdened on their maid's shoulders ..That's dog lovers for you ..Maybe they were stray dogs in their previous birth Supreme Court directive on stray dogs The Supreme Court's directive, issued by a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, instructs that all stray dogs in Delhi and the NCR be captured within eight weeks and housed in special shelters created by civic authorities. 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