Gülsen is 46 years old, and she is sometimes nicknamed “the Turkish Madonna”. She is followed by millions of subscribers on social networks, her hits have been regularly at the top of sales for several years in Turkey. At the end of August, she was arrested, detained for four days in Bakirkoy prison, then placed under house arrest for two weeks, before being served with a ban on leaving the territory.
She now faces three years in prison for “incitement to hatred of one part of the people against another”, for the sole reason, during one of her concerts last spring, of having dropped this sentence in public. wanting to tease one of his musicians: “He went to a religious school, that’s why he is perverse”. By discovering the images a few weeks later on the Tik Tok network, a zealous prosecutor therefore decided to prosecute the singer, with the support of the conservative press which does not support the slightest attack against these Koranic schools, colleges and high schools called ” Imam Hatip”. These establishments are more and more numerous in Turkey, promoted by the power of President Erdogan, who has held the reins of the country for 20 years. They now welcome nearly two million students.
It is also Gülsen’s personality who irritates power, precisely because of her little Madonna side. She is willingly provocative in her texts and especially in her clothing appearance. In his last clip, Lollipop, released last spring, she adopts light outfits and lascivious poses, really à la Madonna. Unbearable for conservatives. And the clip has almost a premonitory aspect: at the beginning, we see Gülsen handcuffed and led behind bars, which are suddenly closed to imprison her.
The singer is also a flag bearer for the LGBT cause in Turkey. And that too, of course, deeply displeases the conservative press, which rejoiced at his arrest at the end of August, with this formula: “We must fight these enemies of religion, these LGBT perverts who are also the enemies of President Erdogan”. At least, it’s clear. During the hearing today, the singer replied that we were looking to “to punish his existence as a person”. Gülsen is therefore also the symbol of a country deeply divided between secular and religious; there were many veiled women in the courtroom this afternoon.
The pop star is not the only artist to be the target of power, it is even far from it. Another Turkish star, Sezen Aksu, is also being prosecuted for “attacking religious values” for having mentioned Adam and Eve in one of his songs. Many musicians or writers are worried. And in recent months, more than ten festivals have been banned, on the grounds of excessive mixing or the risks associated with alcohol consumption.
In mid-October, a new press law was also adopted. She intends to fight “the disclosure of false information”. It is likely that it is above all a tool for censorship, eight months before a presidential election which promises to be under high tension in mid-June. President Erdogan wants to stay in power, but he faces a determined opposition, and he risks paying the bill for a catastrophic economic situation (nearly 100% inflation).
For Gülsen in any case, the next hearing has just been set for December 21. And until then, she will remain banned from leaving Turkey.