AP.org

Los Angeles, Jan 9 - Iranian classical singer Shahram Nazeri, dubbed "Iran's Pavarotti," was released after being held overnight for questioning by authorities in Tehran.

Nazeri turned himself in Thursday, a source close to the family told The Associated Press, requesting anonymity out of safety concerns. Nazeri's detention and yesterday release were confirmed by Hadi Ghaemi, director of the New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

The singer had been briefly detained at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran when he returned to the country on January 4 from a New Year's vacation in Dubai. His passport and identification documents were seized at the time, the source said.

Witnesses at the airport told the source that a crowd of onlookers who had initially sought Nazeri's autograph grew angry that he was being detained and began shouting "Death to the Dictator.