Turkish singer sentenced over joke on religious schools

A court in Istanbul on Wednesday handed Turkish pop singer Gulsen a 10-month suspended sentence after convicting her of "inciting hatred and enmity" over a joke about Turkey's religious schools, Turkey's state-run news agency reported.

The singer-songwriter was briefly jailed last year for the joke she made during a concert, when she quipped that the "perversion" of one of her musicians came from attending a religious school.

The 46-year-old singer, whose full name is Gulsen Colakoglu, was jailed for five days and later spent 15 days under house arrest despite having apologized for any offense she caused religious school graduates.

The court on Wednesday found her guilty of the charge and initially sentenced her to one year in prison, Anadolu Agency reported. The court later reduced the sentence, citing her "respectful stance" during the trial. Gulsen will face...