Turkish court lifts house arrest against singer Gülşen

An Istanbul court has lifted the house arrest of singer Gülşen who is on trial for a joke about Islamic Imam Hatip schools from more than four months ago.

Duvar English

An Istanbul court on Sept. 12 lifted a house arrest order against pop singer Gülşen who is facing charges of “inciting hatred and hostility among the public” over her comments from four months ago about Islamic Imam Hatip schools.

The court imposed an international travel ban on the singer and ordered her to give her signature at the nearest police station on a weekly basis, according to reporting by Demirören news agency.

On Aug. 25, Gülşen was jailed pending trial after a video of her comments from a concert on April 30 surfaced. In the video in question, Gülşen refers to a musician in her band and says in a light-hearted manner: "He studied at an Imam Hatip (school) previously. That's where his perversion comes from."

Upon public uproar, the singer was released from jail and placed under house arrest on Aug. 29. The indictment by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is demanding up to three years in jail for the singer.