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Turkish pop star jailed over joke released to house arrest

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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish court has released pop star Gulsen from jail but placed her on house arrest as she awaits trial on charges of “inciting hatred and enmity” for a joke she made about Turkey’s religious schools. The 46-year-old singer and songwriter was taken away from her home in Istanbul for questioning last week and ordered arrested and jailed pending trial. The charges were based on a joke the singer made during an April concert, where she quipped that one of her musicians’ “perversion” stemmed from attending a religious school. Critics say the singer’s arrest was an effort by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to consolidate support from his religious backers ahead of an election next year.

Article Topic Follows: AP National

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