DO NOT DISPLEASE THE SULTAN: Turkish singer, actress Zuhal Olcay sentenced to 10 months in prison for ‘insulting Erdoğan.’

A lawsuit was filed against the artist for “insulting” Erdoğan during a concert last year, with the prosecutor seeking a four-year prison sentence for the singer.

The indictment prepared by the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office stated that a person told the police that Olcay had made an insulting hand gesture against Erdoğan during a concert in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul on Aug. 5, 2016. An investigation was subsequently launched and footage from the concert was examined by an expert, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Dec. 12, 2017.

Olcay is accused of revising lyrics to the song “Boş Vermişim Dünyayı” (I Let Go of the World) to criticize Erdoğan, devising a hand-gesture to accompany the melody. According to the footage, the revised lyrics say: “Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, it’s all empty, it’s all a lie, life will end one day and you’ll say ‘I had a dream.’”

In her testimony, Olcay reportedly said she revised the lyrics because the president’s name fit the rhyme scheme and she “had not had any other ulterior or insulting motive.”

The singer also said the hand gesture had targeted an audience member in the front row after they had made a negative comment about her.

Ominous.