Iranian Rapper Tataloo Faces Imminent Execution After Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence
Rights activists say the timing of Tataloo’s sentence is politically charged. His defiant lyrics following Amini’s death directly named Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In one track, he rapped: “We don’t want tear gas, because there are tears in everyone’s eyes.”
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Iranian rapper Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, widely known as Tataloo, is facing execution after Iran’s Supreme Court upheld his death sentence for “insulting Islamic sanctities,” according to the Associated Press (AP). The heavily tattooed 37-year-old artist—once a symbol of youthful defiance and even briefly an ally of hardliners—now awaits death in a prison uniform, a grim reflection of Iran’s political turmoil over the past decade.
Tataloo rose to fame in the early 2000s through underground music that blended Western rap and rock with Persian lyrics, resonating with a generation disillusioned by censorship and lack of opportunity. But as AP reports, his political lyrics became sharper after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini and the nationwide protests that followed.
“When you show your face in a music video, you are saying, ‘Hey, I’m here, and I don’t care about your restrictions,’” former BBC journalist Ali Hamedani told AP, recalling a 2005 interview with the rapper. “That was brave.”
The judiciary's spokesperson, Asghar Jahangir, confirmed the death sentence’s finalization last month, declaring the ruling “ready for execution.”
Human rights activists and artists worldwide have condemned the ruling. “Tataloo is at serious risk of execution,” said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of the advocacy group Iran Human Rights. “The international community, artists, and the public must act to stop his execution.”
A Controversial Rise and Fall
Tataloo’s musical journey was often marked by contradiction. In 2015, he appeared in a widely circulated music video aboard an Iranian warship, performing a pro-nuclear anthem in support of the Revolutionary Guard. He even endorsed hardliner Ebrahim Raisi during the 2017 presidential race—an apparent attempt to gain official favor and secure freedom of movement.
Though he left Iran for Turkey in 2018, where he gained popularity on social media among Iranian youth, he was deported in 2023 after his passport expired and arrested upon reentry into Iran. He was initially sentenced to five years for blasphemy, but the Supreme Court overturned the verdict, and a new court handed him the death sentence in January. He already faced a decade-long sentence on other charges, including promoting “moral corruption.”
Despite his controversies—including a deactivated Instagram account over explicit posts and public acknowledgment of drug use—Tataloo retained a large fanbase known as the “Tatalities.” Many have campaigned for his release, according to Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near-East Policy.
Political Undertones
Rights activists say the timing of Tataloo’s sentence is politically charged. His defiant lyrics following Amini’s death directly named Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In one track, he rapped: “We don’t want tear gas, because there are tears in everyone’s eyes.”
His sentencing comes as Iran faces increasing international isolation. “The country is at its most isolated,” Abbas Milani, an Iran expert at Stanford University, told AP.
In a rare public statement during his trial, Tataloo expressed remorse: “I have certainly made mistakes… I apologize for the mistakes I made,” reported the state-owned Jam-e Jam newspaper. He also reportedly attempted suicide last month, underscoring the urgency of his situation.
