Five members of a Turkish rock band were arrested on charges of insulting religious values and inciting hatred, Turkish Minute reported.
The musicians, from the band Sarinvomit, were taken into custody after İstanbul prosecutors launched an investigation into lyrics and social media posts by the group’s members alleged to have disparaged religion.
Band members, identified only by the initials B.S., Ç.Y., G.K., İ.A.K. and K.R.Ç., were detained by police and taken to court after questioning. They denied the accusations, telling prosecutors they had not performed the songs in question and had no connection to the social media posts cited in the investigation.
Despite their defense, a judge ordered the five to be held pending trial on charges of “inciting hatred and hostility or insulting the public.”
Under the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), publicly insulting religious values shared by part of the population is a crime if the act is deemed likely to disturb public peace. Article 216 of the TCK sets the punishment at six months to one year in prison, depending on the severity of the offense.
Sarinvomit, formed in İstanbul in 2013, is known in Turkey’s underground metal scene for its mix of black and death metal. The band gained attention with its 2018 album, “Malignant Thermonuclear Supremacy,” and for live performances that often highlight themes of destruction and death.
The arrests are the latest in a series of prosecutions in Turkey under laws that criminalize “insults” against religion, government institutions or officials, which rights groups say are increasingly used to restrict free expression.
Earlier this month, members of the Turkish girl band Manifest were released under a travel ban and judicial supervision requiring them to regularly check in with the police after testifying to prosecutors as part of an “indecency” probe. The group’s members are under investigation on allegations of “obscene acts” and “public indecency” following a recent performance in İstanbul.
In a similar development in July, five employees of the popular satirical magazine LeMan were arrested on accusations that the magazine had published a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad, deemed blasphemous by many Muslims.
The magazine and its staff have vigorously denied that the cartoon published in the magazine depicted Prophet Muhammad.
An indictment drafted earlier this month seeks prison sentences of up to four-and-a-half years for five staff members on charges of “incitement to hatred and enmity and openly insulting religious values.” One of the defendants is currently abroad.
