A Turkish pop star, Gulsen was jailed on Thursday in relation to a joke she made on stage about religious schools in Turkey. She was jailed for commenting about one of her musicians, in particular saying that he is a pervert since he graduated from a “imam hatip” school (a type of islamic religious school).
The mentioned schools recently came into focus due to allegations of their graduates being involved in the sexual abuse of children.
Dissidents on social media spoke out in support of Gulsen and say that the video of the singer’s comment was deliberately circulated by “trolls of AKP” on social media and she was already being targeted for her stance about secularism and women’s rights.
Omer Celik, the Justise Minister of the Islamist AKP Government argued that this is “a hate crime and a disgrace to humanity” and also said that “there is no doubt of judicial independence in Turkey” .
The arrest sparked an outrage among the public calling for Gulsen’s immediate release.
