Iran: Rapper Tatalo sentenced to prison

Iranian rapper Amir Dadalo, who has been detained since December, has been sentenced to prison after a trial for allegedly spreading “obscene content,” state media reported Sunday.

At the age of 36, the singer and songwriter is one of the pioneers of rap in Iran, where he launched his career in 2018 after failing to obtain a music activity license from the Iranian authorities.

“My client was sentenced to a long and short prison term,” his lawyer Me Elham Rahimifar announced, as quoted by the Jam-e Jam newspaper and state television.

He did not provide details on the length of these sentences or the reasons for the sentences, referring only to the “first instance judgment” subject to appeal.

A judge announced in December that the artist had been extradited to Iran by Turkey at the behest of a revolutionary court in Tehran.

His case began in early March, specifically for “encouraging the younger generation to commit prostitution”, “propaganda against the Islamic Republic” and “dissemination of obscene content in the form of clips and songs”.

Before his departure to Turkey, Amir Dadalo was arrested several times, most notably in 2016 for “disturbing public opinion”.

Tattooed from head to toe, the rapper sparked controversy in 2017 when he met with ultra-conservative candidate Ibrahim Raisi ahead of his 2021 presidential bid.

In 2015, he wrote a song in support of Iran’s nuclear program at a time when the nuclear deal between Tehran and the international community was ending.