Conviction of a 'Underground Singer' in Iran to Ten Years in Prison

The Tehran prosecutor announced on Saturday that an 'underground singer' has been sentenced to ten years in prison and 74 lashes, and also warned that one should 'refrain' from commenting on the 'crime' or lack thereof regarding the transfer of municipal properties. According to a report on Saturday, November 6, the official news agency of the judiciary, 'Mizan', Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the prosecutor, made these statements at the fifth meeting on combating 'social harms' with a focus on drug-related crimes. Mr. Dolatabadi reported the issuance of a prison and lash sentence for an 'underground' singer by a court in Tehran. This judicial official did not name the singer or refer to the details of his case, but stated that 'considering the forgiveness declared by one of the plaintiffs,' half of the prison sentence for [this singer] has been 'suspended.' However, it seems the prosecutor's reference is to Amir Tataloo, whose real name is Amirhossein Maqsoudloo, a pop singer and one of the most famous 'underground' singers in Iran who was arrested in late summer this year and imprisoned for over two months. Mr. Tataloo was arrested on September 24 this year, and less than 24 hours later, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Instagram page witnessed an unprecedented flood of comments calling for his release. Tataloo's fans, most of whom are teenagers, wrote about the 'innocence' of their beloved singer in these comments and requested his release from Mr. Khamenei. With over 3.2 million followers, Tataloo is also considered one of the most popular Iranian figures in cyberspace. The charges against this singer include 'encouraging youth towards corruption and profanity' and 'insulting a judge,' and the Tehran prosecutor had previously reported his 'apology' in court. Iranian law enforcement and judicial officials have repeatedly clashed with underground groups, arresting several 'underground' singers and banning or restricting the activities of many of these groups. In May 2012, the head of the moral security police emphasized the illegality of music groups operating without a license, stating that 'the police will confront unauthorized singers both underground and above ground.' In November 2010, the head of Tehran police reported the closure of two centers producing and distributing underground music and the arrest of individuals associated with these centers. In Iran, in addition to extensive restrictions on the activities of music groups, numerous other restrictions are imposed on other artistic, media, civil, and social groups, and violations can lead to arrest and imprisonment. The prohibition on commenting about the municipal property case is also noteworthy. Yashar Soltani, the editor-in-chief of 'Architecture News,' is among the media activists who has been detained since September 18 for publishing documents related to the transfer of municipal properties in Tehran, and despite numerous requests for his release, he remains in prison. The Architecture News website published images of a letter from the General Inspection Organization stating that the Tehran municipality illegally sold 200 properties belonging to the municipality at 'unrealistic' and 'very low' prices to some managers of this institution and other individuals close to the mayor of Tehran. The Tehran prosecutor also stated on Saturday in his latest remarks regarding the transfer of municipal properties that 'all officials must refrain from commenting on the occurrence or non-occurrence of a crime in this case until a final decision is made by the prosecutor's office.'