The well-known Turkish TV preacher Adnan Oktar has been sentenced to a total of 8,658 years in prison. A court in Istanbul found the 66-year-old guilty of sexual abuse and deprivation of liberty on Wednesday, according to the official Anadolu news agency. In a first trial, Oktar was sentenced to a total of 1,075 years in prison last year, but an appeals court overturned the sentence.
Oktar, who calls himself Harun Yahya, was known for his show on online channel A9, in which he always appeared surrounded by heavily made-up and scantily clad women he called his “kittens”. At the same time, he represented a decidedly conservative world view. His critics also thought he was the leader of a sect. Oktar became known abroad for his “Atlas of Creation”, in which he rejects the theory of evolution.
Investigators from the Financial Crimes Unit arrested the Muslim preacher along with a number of supporters in July 2018. According to Anadolu, ten co-defendants have now also been sentenced to 8,658 years in prison.
