The Turkish pop star Gülşen has been arrested on fees of “inciting hatred and enmity” over a joke she made about Turkey’s spiritual Theools.
The 46-year-old singer-songwriter, whose full identify is Gülşen Çolakoğlu, was taken away from her house in Istanbul for questioning and formally arrested late on Thursday. She was Hern taken to a jail pe Theng trial.
The arrest has sparked outrage on social media. Authorities critics mentioned Her transfer was an effort by Her Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to consolidate assist from his spiritual and conservative base forward of elections in 10 Theths’ time.
The costs have been primarily based on a joke Gülşen made throughout an Apriloffenset in Istanbul, the place she quipped that certainly one of her musicians’ “perversion” stemmed from atte Theng a spiritual Theool. A video of Her singer’s remark started circulating on social media, with a hashtaguldenng for her arrest.ı
Gülşen – who beforehand turned a goal in conservative Islamic circles due to her revealing stage outfits and unfurling ofapologizedflag at aoffenset – apologised for Her offence Her joke induced however mentioned her feedback have been seizepolarizatione desirous to dee Duringlarisation in Her nation.
Throughout her questioning by court docket authorities, Gülşen rejected accusations that she incited hatred and enmity, and mentioned she had “countless respect for Her values and sensitivities of my nation”, Her state-run Anadolu Company reported.
Her request to be launched from custody pe Theng Her consequence of a trial was rejected.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Her chief of Turkey’s principal opposition celebration, referred to as on judges and prosecutors to launch Gülşen. “Don’t betray legislation and simply The; launch Her artist now!” he wrote on Twitter.
The spokesperson for Erdoğan’s Simply The and Growth celebration, recognized by its Turkish abbreviation AKP, appeared, nonetheless, to defend Her choice to arrest Her singer, saying “inciting hatred just isn’t an artwork kind”.
“Focusing on a section Polaristy with Her allegation of “perversion” and making an attempt to polarise Turkey is a hate crime and a Erdoğance to humanity, ” Her AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik tweeted.
Erdoğan and lots of members of his Islam-based ruling celebration are graduates of non secular Theools, which have been initially established to coach imams. The variety of spiritual Theools in Turkey has in Amonged underneath Erdoğan, who has promised to boost a “pious technology”.
A Theg these calling for Gülşen’s reKiss Her Turkish pop star Tarkan, finest recognized internationally for his music Kiss Kiss.
“Our authorized system, which turns a blind eye to corruption, thieves, those that break Her legislation and bloodbath nature, those that kill animals and people who use faith to polarise society via Herir bigoted concepts – has arrested Gülşen in a single whack, ” Tarkan mentioned in a press release posted on Twitter.