On Monday, the Istanbul Criminal Court released Gulsen on the condition that she “do not leave the residence” after her lawyers appealed her arrest, Anadolu reported. Turkish media showed Gulsen outside the prison compound getting into a truck.
However, the charges against the singer have not been dropped and the prosecutor will draw up an indictment asking the judge to start hearings.
The charges appear to be related to a video circulating on social media from a Gulsen concert in April, when she joked about one of the musicians.
“He graduated from Imam Hatip (religious schools). That’s where his perverted side comes from,” he said.
Gulsen denied the accusation, saying it was a joke, and apologized to those offended by her comments.
After her arrest, Gulsen shared a message on her official Twitter and Instagram accounts, apologizing to “anyone who was offended” by the joke and saying it had been twisted by “malicious people who aim to polarize our country.”
“I made a joke with my colleagues, with whom I have worked for many years in the business. It has been published by people who aim to polarize society,” he said.
Celebrities, cultural figures and fans have called for the pop star’s release, including award-winning British-Turkish novelist Elif Shafak, who said in a tweet: “Deeply saddened by the arrest of artist @gulsen. She was targeted for her bold advocacy of women’s rights, LGBT+ rights, secularism, democracy and pluralism. This is a lynching campaign. It is neither legal nor conscientious. Free immediately.”
Iconic Turkish pop star Tarkan also condemned the arrest on Twitter, saying: “This injustice against Gulsen must end and Gulsen must be released immediately.”
Gülsen has previously been targeted by Turkish conservative groups for her revealing clothing and support for the LGBTQ community.
The Muslim-majority country is officially secular but highly polarized on issues surrounding religion, women’s rights and LGBTQ rights.
Imam Hatip schools, which teach religious studies alongside the Turkish curriculum, have grown in the two decades the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been in power. The schools are known for training young people to become imams or preachers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the school, as did several AKP members.
AKP members defended Gulsen’s arrest, with party spokesman Omer Celik tweeting that “inciting hatred is not an art form.”
