The arrest of a Turkish pop star over a joke he made about religious schools has sparked a fierce response from critics of the government, who see it as bent on punishing those who oppose its conservative views.
Pop singer Gulsen was jailed on Thursday awaiting trial for inciting hatred after a pro-government media outlet aired a video of a statement she made on stage in April.
Turkish pop singer Gulsen was jailed on Thursday awaiting trial for inciting hatred. Depo Photos via REUTERS
“He previously studied at an Imam Hatip (school). That’s where his perversion comes from,” Gulsen says cheerfully in the video, referring to a musician in his band.
President Tayyip Erdogan, whose Islamist-rooted AK party first came to power some 20 years ago, himself studied at one of the country’s first Imam Hatip schools, which was founded by the state to educate young people to be imams and preachers.
Sabah, a pro-government newspaper, published the video on Wednesday, saying Gulsen had previously received criticism for “the actions she displayed on stage, extremely low-cut dresses and holding an LGBT flag.”
Several ministers reacted to Gulsen’s words on Twitter, with Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag condemning what he called “primitive” comments and an “outdated mentality”.
“Inciting one part of society against another using hateful, hateful and discriminatory language under the guise of being an artist is the greatest disrespect to art,” he wrote.
On Thursday, Gulsen apologized to anyone offended by her remarks, saying they were taken advantage of by some who want to polarize society.
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Gulsen’s lawyer, Emek Emre, told Reuters his legal team had filed a challenge to the formal arrest decision on Friday, saying the process of his detention had been illegal and irregular from the start.
“We hope that everything will be done as required by law. My hope and expectation is that this (arrest) decision will be overturned,” he said.
Thousands of people on social media spoke out in support of Gulsen, saying she was being attacked for her liberal views and support for LGBT+ rights.
“I think she is detained because she is a figure who represents secular Turkey and an artist sensitive to supporting the LGBTI movement,” said Veysel Ok, a lawyer and co-director of the Media and Legal Studies Association.
Gulsen took her for questioning from her home in Istanbul. Depo Photos via AP, File
“I think they were looking for an excuse to arrest her and they found it with the joke four months ago,” he told Reuters in an interview in his office in Istanbul.
In a strange move, several staunchly pro-government columnists criticized Gulsen’s arrest.
“Should we go to jail awaiting trial for anyone who says nonsense? Let society hand out their punishment,” Mehmet Barlas said in his column in Sabah.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said the arrest was aimed at polarizing society to keep Erdogan’s AK Party in power.
Erdogan and the AK Party say Turkish courts are independent.
Lawyer Ok said the case showed that, on the contrary, the country’s judiciary is not independent, referring to the imprisonment of philanthropist Osman Kavala, pro-Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtas and many other politicians and journalists in recent years .
“The Gulsen case has once again shown that the Turkish judiciary is the government’s greatest weapon,” he said. “It makes you feel that if you live differently than those in power, your life and freedom are in danger.”