After pop artist Gulsen was detained over a previous remark she made against religious schools, the United States expressed continued worry about Turkey's repression of free speech, and women's groups demonstrated in Istanbul on Saturday.
A video of the musician's on-stage remark from April was broadcast by a pro-government media site, leading to her arrest on a charge of inciting hatred and her arrest on Thursday. reading more
While Gulsen's remarks were criticised by a number of state ministries, those who believe President Tayyip Erdogan's administration is hell-bent on retaliating against individuals who disagree with its conservative viewpoints reacted angrily to her imprisonment.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said it remains concerned about widespread efforts in Turkey to restrict expression via censorship and judicial harassment following Gulsen’s detention.
Protesters in Istanbul criticised what they called inconsistency between the judiciary’s inaction towards violence against women and the artist’s speedy investigation and arrest. Many say Gulsen was targeted for her liberal views and support for LGBT+ rights.
“Hundreds of women would be alive today if men who assaulted other women were captured as fast as Gulsen was,” organizers of the Istanbul protest told demonstrators through a loudspeaker.
Her arrest is the latest injustice against “women who don’t fit the mold,” or are not “the type of woman the government wants,” they said.
In the video of her performance in April, Gulsen 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.”
Erdogan, whose Islamist-rooted party first came to power two decades ago, himself studied at one of Turkey’s first Imam Hatip schools, which were founded by the state to educate young men to be imams and preachers but have since exploded in number.
Gulsen on Thursday apologised to anyone offended by her remarks, saying they were seized upon by some who want to polarise society.