Turkish court sentences rapper Murda to four years in jail for encouraging drug use
The rapper was detained briefly in October at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport for "promoting drug use" in his lyrics. The Istanbul court on Tuesday sentenced rapper Murda to more than four years in jail for "encouraging drug use" in his songs.
- Magazine
- DPA
- Published Date: 04:13 | 19 April 2022
- Modified Date: 04:19 | 19 April 2022
An Istanbul court on Tuesday sentenced rapper Murda to more than four years in jail for "encouraging drug use" in his songs, his lawyer told dpa.
The verdict is not final.
The 38-year-old rapper, a Dutch citizen and currently in the Netherlands, denies the allegations, lawyer Ümit Gürkal Egemen said over the phone, adding he had appealed against the "unjust" verdict.
Murda, whose real name is Mehmet Önder Doğan, mainly sings in Turkish and is popular in Turkey.
Murda has "only acted within the scope of freedom of expression," lawyer Egemen said, adding the accusations refer to three of the rapper's songs, one of them titled "Eh Baba" and viewed more than 116 million times on YouTube.
"I rolled a joint. Man, it shook me," reads a lyric from the song.
The rapper was detained briefly in October at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokçen Airport for "promoting drug use" in his lyrics.
In 2018, famous Turkish rapper Ezhel was briefly arrested for publicly promoting drug use in his lyrics before he was acquitted shortly after.