Prosecutor seeks up to three years in jail for singer Gülşen over 'religious schools' joke
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The third hearing of the trial of renowned pop singer Gülşen Bayraktar-Çolakoğlu, widely known as Gülşen, was held today (March 1) at the İstanbul 11th Penal Court of First Instance.
Announcing their opinion as to the accusations, the prosecutor demanded a prison sentence of from 1 to 3 years for the singer for "provoking the public into hatred and hostility."
The case concerns a joke Gülşen made during a concert last April about religious vocational schools, or "imam-hatips," in Türkiye.
In a video excerpt from the concert, Gülşen is seen talking about one of her band members, saying, "He had studied at an imam-hatip school before. This is where his perversion comes from," sparking laughter from the audience.
The video excerpt started circulating on social media in August, which was immediately followed by an ex-officio investigation against the singer.
The defense
While Gülşen did not attend today's hearing, her lawyers were present in the courtroom.
Altın Mimir, a lawyer for the singer, said, "I was very upset listening to the prosecutor's opinion. We are all lawyers, we graduated from the same faculties. No elements of the offense charged against the client occurred. [The element of] publicity did not occur."
The lawyer further argued that the imam-hatip schools are not a social class, citing the law article that the allegations are based on.
Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code says, "A person who publicly provokes hatred or hostility in one section of the public against another section which has a different characteristic based on social class, race, religion, sect or regional difference, which creates an explicit and imminent danger to public security shall be sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of one to three years."
İlker Göktaş, another lawyer, said, "The opinion is not a legal opinion. Crime requires intent. The client has no intention."
The lawyers demanded extra time to make a defense against the prosecutor's opinion. Accepting this request, the court adjourned the hearing to May 3 at 9.30 p.m.
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. |
(HA/VK)