A Turkish pop star may resist three years in jail after she was indicted Friday for "inciting hatred and enmity" over a joke she made about non secular faculties within the nation.
Singer-songwriter Gülşen -- typically labelled as Turkey's Madonna -- was jailed final week however was launched 4 days later and positioned underneath home arrest.
The fees stem from a quip the singer made throughout a live performance in April when she joked that one among her musicians' "perversion" got here from attending a non secular faculty. A video of the singer's remark started circulating on social media lately, with a hashtag calling for her arrest.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and plenty of members of his Islam-based ruling occasion are graduates of spiritual faculties referred to as Imam Hatip, which have been initially established to coach imams.
The 48-page indictment has 702 complainants, together with people, a pro-government ladies's rights group and an affiliation from the non secular faculty.
Turkey's penal code criminalises incitement of hatred and enmity towards completely different teams in society based mostly on class, race, faith or sect, requiring a jail sentence in circumstances that result in threats towards public security.
In her assertion to the police included within the indictment, Gülşen stated she had joked with a band member whose nickname was "imam" however who had not attended the varsity.
"I by no means stated this to insult or denigrate college students of Imam Hatips or a section of our nation. My respect for all values and sensitivities of the nation is everlasting," she stated and denied the costs.
The 46-year-old singer had beforehand develop into a goal in Islamic circles on account of her revealing stage outfits and for unfurling an LGBTQ+ flag at a live performance.
A court docket has to approve the indictment for the trial to start. A request by Gülşen's lawyer for her to be launched from home arrest was rejected.
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