February 2, 2024
Iranian authorities have arrested a popular singer who had criticized the government after moving to Turkiye, but was subsequently arrested in Turkiye and handed over to Iran at the border, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported December 6.
Amirhossein Maghsoudloo, better known by his stage name, Tataloo, has been critical of Iran’s leaders since he moved to Turkiye. It wasn’t clear why he was arrested by Turkish police December 4, but IRNA reported he was facing complaints for allegedly inviting underage people to his home in Istanbul.
IRNA said Turkish police handed him over to Iranian authorities in the northwestern province of West Azerbaijan.
Tataloo has never been allowed to hold a concert in Iran but was a popular underground singer with many young fans. During the 2017 presidential campaign, he met with the current president, Ebrahim Raisi, when he was running against incumbent President Rohani and effectively endorsed Raisi. In 2015, he made a music video on an Iranian Navy ship, defending the country’s nuclear program. The regime clearly has a problem with singers who air songs critical of the regime. Tataloo is by no means the only singer prosecuted in recent months. Others include Mehdi Yarrahi, who recently was sentenced to 2 years and eight months in prison plus 74 lashes for his song Roosarito (Your Headscarf), Toomaj Salehi and Saman Yasin.
