Singer sentenced to 10 months in jail for insulting Turkey's president
Thu Mar 22, 2018 02:36:pm Politics
5K By franklyn Anude
A famous Turkish celebrity has been sentenced to 10 months in prison, Turkish paper, Hurriyet newspaper said on Thursday.
The sentence was passed on Zuhal Olcay, a singer and actress for insulting President Tayyip Erdogan during a performance in 2016. She was accused of substituting Erdogan's name into the lyrics to one of her songs she was singing while making an insulting hand gesture.
A video of the performance showed the singer change her song's lyrics to read "Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it's all empty, it's all a lie, life will end one day and you'll say ‘I had a dream'," Hurriyet said.
Olcay, who had been fined 10,620 lira ($2,708) for "insulting a public servant" in 2010, denied the accusations during her testimony, insisting she had no "ulterior or insulting motive" other than Erdogan's name fitting in well with the rhyme while the hand gesture she made was aimed at an audience in the crowd.
In Turkey, insulting the president is a punishable and carries a sentence of up to four years in prison.
The sentence was passed on Zuhal Olcay, a singer and actress for insulting President Tayyip Erdogan during a performance in 2016. She was accused of substituting Erdogan's name into the lyrics to one of her songs she was singing while making an insulting hand gesture.
A video of the performance showed the singer change her song's lyrics to read "Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it's all empty, it's all a lie, life will end one day and you'll say ‘I had a dream'," Hurriyet said.
Olcay, who had been fined 10,620 lira ($2,708) for "insulting a public servant" in 2010, denied the accusations during her testimony, insisting she had no "ulterior or insulting motive" other than Erdogan's name fitting in well with the rhyme while the hand gesture she made was aimed at an audience in the crowd.
In Turkey, insulting the president is a punishable and carries a sentence of up to four years in prison.
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