Singer previously targeted for support of LGBTQ rights rejects charge she ‘incited hatred’
Photograph: APPhotograph: APThe Turkish pop star Gülşen has been arrested on charges of “inciting hatred and enmity” over a joke she made about Turkey’s religious schools.
The 46-year-old singer-songwriter, whose full name is Gülşen Çolakoğlu, was taken away from her home in Istanbul for questioning and formally arrested late on Thursday. She was then taken to a prison pending trial. The arrest has sparked outrage on social media. Government critics said the move was an effort by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to consolidate support from his religious and conservative base ahead of elections in 10 months’ time.
The charges were based on a joke Gülşen made during an April concert in Istanbul, where she quipped that one of her musicians’ “perversion” stemmed from attending a religious school. A video of the singer’s comment began circulating on social media, with a hashtag calling for her arrest.ı Gülşen – who previously became a target in conservative Islamic circles because of her revealing stage outfits and unfurling of an LGBTQ flag at a concert – apologised for the offence the joke caused but said her comments were seized on by those wanting to deepen polarisation in the country.
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