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JAKARTA, KOMPAS.TV – Harun Yahya (64) was found guilty of sexual offenses and sentenced to 1,075 years in prison by a court in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday (11/1/2021).
According to a Guardian report, the verdict fell after Harun Yahya allegedly committed sexual assault, sexual abuse of minors, fraud, and attempted political and military espionage.
Harun Yahya is a Muslim televangelist who is often shown preaching on television with scantily clad women, whom he calls “kittens.”
In addition to Harun Yahya, the court also tried two executives from the same organization as him, namely Tarkan Yavas and Oktar Babuna. The two were sentenced to 211 and 186 years, respectively.
The official Anadolu news agency also reported that Harun Yahya was found guilty of aiding a group led by Fethullah Gulen that attempted a Turkish coup but failed in 2016.
He denies having any relationship with Gulen and cites the idea that he leads a sexual cult as an “urban myth.”
The Islamic book author, also known as Adnan Oktar, was previously arrested in 2018. At the time, he told the judge that he had nearly 1,000 girlfriends.
Anadolu reported that around 236 defendants were currently facing charges, 78 of whom were in custody awaiting trial.
Harun Yahya aka Adnan Oktar first appeared in the public spotlight in the 1990s, when he was the leader of a cult that was involved in many sex scandals.
It began broadcasting on its A9 television station in 2011 and has come under heavy criticism from religious leaders in Turkey. The channel is frequently fined by the Turkish media regulator RTUK, confiscated by the state and even closed.
A woman with the initials CC who was present at the trial said that Harun Yahya often sexually harassed him and other women. Some other women were even forced to take birth control pills.
Police also found evidence in the form of 69,000 birth control pills. When asked in court, Harun Yahya said the pills were used to treat skin disorders and menstrual disorders.
The Turkish authorities destroyed his villa, which was also used as a television studio, and confiscated all of his property in 2018.
