Turkish popstar sentenced for religious joke during concert
- By Web Desk -
- May 04, 2023
A court in Istanbul handed a 10-month sentence to Turkish pop singer Gulsen for a mid-concert religious joke.
As per the reports from a state-run news agency, Gulsen, who was briefly jailed last year followed by a house arrest for her joke regarding religious schools, was handed a 10-month suspended sentence by the Istanbul court on Wednesday, for ‘inciting hatred and enmity’.
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According to the details, the singer-songwriter was jailed for five days last year before she spent 15 days under house arrest after she joked on stage that the ‘perversion’ of one of her band members is the result of him attending a religious school.
Later, the performer issued an apology for the incident.
The Turkish court found the 46-year-old guilty of the charge and sentenced her to one year in prison, which was then reduced to 10 months, owing to her ‘respectful stance’ during the trial.
The singer was also warned that any such remarks in the future can lead to further jail sentences in the next five years.
There was no immediate comment from her.
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Gulsen had earlier rejected the accusations defending that her comment ‘was a joke between two people’. The Turkish singer had told the court that she had just teased a band member who was nicknamed ‘Imam’ but had not attended a religious school.
Her lawyer reiterated the stance and requested the acquittal saying ‘there was no crime’.
It is pertinent to mention here that Gulsen was previously attacked for her revealing stage outfits and unfurling an LGBTQ flag at a concert.