ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Turkish pop singer indicted for inciting hatred

Turkish pop star Gulsen performs in Aydin, Turkey, on March 27, 2022. (Depo Photos via AP, File) Turkish pop star Gulsen performs in Aydin, Turkey, on March 27, 2022. (Depo Photos via AP, File)
Share
ISTANBUL -

A Turkish pop-singer could face up to three years in prison after she was indicted Friday for "inciting hatred and enmity" over a joke she made about religious schools in the country.

Singer-songwriter Gulsen was jailed last week but was released four days later and placed under house arrest.

The charges stem from a joke the singer made during a concert in April, when she quipped that one of her musicians' "perversion" came from attending a religious school. A video of the singer's comment began circulating on social media recently, with a hashtag calling for her arrest.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and many members of his Islam-based ruling party are graduates of religious schools called Imam Hatip, which were originally established to train imams.

The 48-page indictment has 702 complainants, including from individuals, a pro-government women's rights organization and an association from the religious school. Turkey's penal code criminalizes incitement of hatred and enmity against different groups in society based on class, race, religion or sect, requiring a prison sentence in cases that lead to threats against public safety.

In her statement to the police included in the indictment, Gulsen said she had joked with a band-member whose nickname was "imam" but who had not attended the school. "I never said this to insult or denigrate students of Imam Hatips or a segment of our country. My respect for all values and sensitivities of the country is eternal," she said and denied the charges.

The 46-year-old singer, whose full name is Gulsen Colakoglu, had previously become a target in Islamic circles due to her revealing stage outfits and for unfurling an LGBTQ flag at a concert.

A court has to approve the indictment for the trial to begin. A request by Gulsen's lawyer for her to be released from house arrest was rejected.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

BREAKING

BREAKING

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.