Turkish pop star Gulsen has been arrested on charges of B次元官网网址渋nciting hatred and enmityB次元官网网址� with a joke she made about TurkeyB次元官网网址檚 religious schools, the countryB次元官网网址檚 state-run news agency reported.
The 46-year-old singer and songwriter, whose full name is Gulsen Colakoglu, was taken away from her home in Istanbul for questioning and formally arrested late Thursday. She was then taken to a prison pending trial.
The arrest sparked outrage on social media. Government critics said the move was an effort by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to consolidate support from his religious and conservative ahead of elections in 10 months.
The charges were based on a joke Gulsen made during an April concert in Istanbul, where she quipped that one of her musiciansB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址減erversionB次元官网网址� stemmed from attending a religious school. A video of the singerB次元官网网址檚 comment began circulating on social media recently, with a hashtag calling for her arrest.
Gulsen B次元官网网址� who previously became a target in Islamic circles due to her revealing stage outfits and for unfurling an LGBTQ flag at a concert B次元官网网址� apologized for the offense the joke caused but said her comments were seized on by those wanting to deepen polarization in the country.
During her questioning by court authorities, Gulsen rejected accusations that she incited hatred and enmity, and said she had B次元官网网址渆ndless respect for the values and sensitivities of my country,B次元官网网址� the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Her request to be released from custody pending the outcome of a trial was rejected.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of TurkeyB次元官网网址檚 main opposition party, called on TurkeyB次元官网网址檚 judges and prosecutors to release Gulsen.
B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 betray the law and justice; release the artist now!B次元官网网址� he wrote on Twitter.
The spokesman for ErdoganB次元官网网址檚 Justice and Development party, known by its Turkish acronym AKP, appeared however, to defend the decision to arrest the singer, saying B次元官网网址渋nciting hatred is not an art form.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭argeting a segment of society with the allegation of B次元官网网址減erversionB次元官网网址� and trying to polarize Turkey is a hate crime and a disgrace to humanity,B次元官网网址� AKP spokesman Omer Celik tweeted.
Erdogan and many members of his Islam-based ruling party are graduates of religious schools, which were originally established to train imams. The number of religious schools in Turkey has increased under Erdogan, who has promised to raise a B次元官网网址減ious generation.B次元官网网址�
Among those calling for GulsenB次元官网网址檚 release was Turkish pop star, Tarkan, best known internationally for song B次元官网网址淜iss Kiss.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淥ur legal system, which turns a blind eye to corruption, thieves, those who break the law and massacre nature, those who kill animals and those who use religion to polarize society through their bigoted ideas - has arrested Gulsen in one whack,B次元官网网址� Tarkan said in a statement posted on Twitter.
The Associated Press
