Gülsen Colakoglu was previously known in Turkey for her pop songs and her daring stage clothes – now the singer has become the most prominent victim of state repression. The judiciary accuses her of hate speech and put the 46-year-old in custody. She was released into house arrest on Monday after protests by the opposition, women’s rights activists, lawyers and influential supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. Still, the message to artists who go against the grain of the government is clear. “We live in terrible times,” says Gülsen’s colleague Melek Mosso, who was not allowed to perform in the spring because the authorities did not like her clothes.
The Gülsen case, as Gülsen Colakoglu calls herself as a singer, is the latest example of the increasing repression of the Western lifestyle in Turkey. The authorities have banned more than a dozen concerts and festivals in recent months, citing security, the protection of minors and a threat to social peace. Gülsen was jailed for making a joke on stage four months ago. The judiciary saw this as a threat to public safety and justified the immediate detention. If convicted, she faces up to three years in prison.
Conservative critics have long denounced Gülsen’s skimpy stage outfits as immoral. The pop diva answered in her own way: At a concert in Istanbul ten days ago, she wore a see-through top. At other performances, she showed solidarity with the LGBTQ community by holding the rainbow flag during performances. That, too, turned the Conservatives against them. She was arrested after the pro-government daily Sabah published a nine-second video from April last week. In the short clip, Gülsen jokes on stage with a member of her backing band and, to the laughter of the audience, says: “He used to go to an Imam Hatip school, which is probably why he’s a pervert.” Imam Hatip schools are religious high schools , which are promoted by Erdogan – himself a graduate of such a school.
The public prosecutor’s office immediately began investigations against Gülsen. Ömer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan’s ruling AKP party, accused Gülsen of spreading hatred. Ali Erbas, head of the state religious office, spoke of an unacceptable insult. Government supporters took to Twitter to call for the singer’s arrest. Gülsen said she apologized if she offended anyone with her comment. It didn’t help her. She disappeared behind bars that same day.
There is no religious police in Turkey, commented Turkey expert Timur Kuran from the US University of Duke; Turkish judges and prosecutors, however, now perform the same tasks as their counterparts in Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Erdogan government wanted to please its ultra-conservative voters, Kuran wrote on Twitter. The pressure on the secular section of Turkish society is intended to win back Islamic Erdogan supporters who are angry with the AKP because of the poor economic situation nine months before the next election.
With the arrest of Gülsen, the pro-government judiciary went too far, even according to government supporters. Ahmet Hakan, editor-in-chief of the pro-Erdogan newspaper Hürriyet, and other prominent journalists from the government camp called for the singer’s release. And lo and behold: the competent court ruled on Monday that pre-trial detention was not necessary. She is to remain under house arrest until her trial begins.
