A controversial Muslim televangelist and cult leader was sentenced to over 1,000 years in prison for 10 separate crimes by a Turkish court in Istanbul on Monday (January 11). Adnan Oktar is the head of a cult that is considered a criminal organization by prosecutors. The 64-year-old Oktar and dozens of his followers were arrested in simultaneous nationwide raids in 2018.
The court found him guilty of forming a criminal gang and sexual abuse of minors, among several other offenses. Oktar preached conservative views while women he called his "kittens" -- many of whom appeared to have had plastic surgery -- danced around him in the TV studio.
He was sentenced to 1,075 years for crimes including sexual assault, sexual abuse of minors, fraud and attempted political and military espionage, the private NTV broadcaster reported. Some 236 suspects have been on trial in the case, 78 of whom are under arrest, according to the official Anadolu news agency.
The hearings have featured lurid details and harrowing sex crime allegations. Oktar told the presiding judge in December that he had close to 1,000 girlfriends.
"There is an overflowing of love in my heart for women. Love is a human quality. It is a quality of a Muslim," he said in another hearing in October. He added on another occasion: "I am extraordinarily potent."
Asked about 69,000 contraception pills found in his home by the police, Oktar said they were used to treat skin disorders and menstrual irregularities.
Oktar is a creationist who rejects the Darwinian theory of evolution and has written a 770-page book called "The Atlas of Creation" under the pen name, Harun Yahya.
(With inputs from agencies)
