Turkey Sentences Pop Singer to Suspended Prison Term After Remarks on Religious Schools

A Turkish state news agency reported on Wednesday that a court in the country sentenced Gulsher, a pop music star, to a 10-month suspended prison term for 'inciting hatred and hostility' following his remarks about religious schools. The singer and songwriter, whose full name is Gulsher Chulakoglu, was temporarily imprisoned last August after comments he made four months earlier were published. The remarks were published a day before his arrest on the website of a pro-government publication in Turkey. According to Reuters, Gulsher jokingly said about one of his band members, 'He studied at [Imam Hatip] religious schools, and his deviations come from there.' Gulsher later stated that he made this comment in jest during a performance in April and apologized to anyone who felt insulted. He added that some individuals misused his words to polarize society. The singer was arrested a few days later on charges of 'spreading hatred' but was subsequently released. His arrest sparked outrage among critics, who claimed he was detained due to his support for Turkey's LGBTQ+ community and his views that contradict those of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist 'Justice and Development' Party. According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, a court in Istanbul issued a 10-month suspended prison sentence for him on Wednesday. This means that if Gulsher is not convicted of another offense within the next five years, he will not have to serve the 10-month prison term. Erdogan, who came to power in Turkey about twenty years ago, studied at one of the first Imam Hatip religious schools. Imam Hatip institutions are among the religious schools in Turkey established by the government to train preachers and imams.