Court refuses to lift singer Gülşen's house arrest
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The İstanbul 27th Penal Court of First Instance has rejected an appeal by pop singer Gülşen's lawyer for the lift of her house arrest.
Lawyer Emek Emre filed the application yesterday (August 31).
Gülşen was arrested on August 25 for "provoking the public into hatred and hostility," after a video of her making a joke about the country's religious vocational schools resurfaced on social media.
On August 28, the court released her to house arrest.
What happened?• On August 25, pro-government media outlets and social media accounts began to circulate a video excerpt from an April 30 concert of Gülşen, where she joked about a colleague, saying he was "a pervert because he is an imam-hatip graduate." • The imam-hatip schools are religious schools training Muslim clerics and preachers. Many senior government officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, are imam-hatip graduates. • Senior government officials condemned Gülşen over her remarks. • Prosecutors quickly opened an investigation, with the singer being detained and brought to the courthouse. A judgeship ordered her arrest for "provoking the people into hatred and hostility." • In her testimony, she said it was an "unfortunate joke" and demanded her release. The court ruled for her arrest. • On August 29, Gülşen was released to house arrest. • Gülşen has long been targeted by pro-government circles because of her support for LGBTI+ rights and stage costumes. |
(AÖ/VK)