Istanbul: A Muslim televangelist who surrounded himself with scantily clad women he called “kittens”, was sentenced to 8,658 years in prison in a retrial by an Istanbul court Wednesday local media reported. Adnan Oktar, the Muslim televangelist, led television programmes surrounded by women wearing lots of makeup and little clothes as he preached creationism and conservative values, reported AFP.
Adnan Oktar, 66, was last year sentenced to 1,075 years for crimes including sexual assault, sexual abuse of minors, fraud, and attempted political and military espionage, but that ruling was overturned by an upper court, added the agency.
During the retrial, Istanbul High Criminal Court sentenced Oktar to 8,658 years in prison on several charges including sexual abuse and depriving someone of their liberty while the court also sentenced 10 other suspects to 8,658 years in prison each, reported the Anadolu news agency.
Oktar, whom critics see as the leader of a cult, gained notoriety for his programmes on the online A9 television channel and had regularly been denounced by Turkey’s religious leaders.
In a major crackdown on his group, he was taken into custody in Istanbul in 2018 as part of a probe by the city’s police financial crimes unit.
(With agency inputs)
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