Turkish cult leader Adnan Oktar sentenced to 8,658 years in prison

An Islamic televangelist and cult leader Adnan Oktar has been sentenced to 8,658 years in prison by a Turkish court for sexual assault and running a decades-old cult.

Al Jazeera reports that the members of the cult were accused of sexual assault, blackmail, money laundering, and espionage.

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The Islamic cult leader Adnan Oktar is said to have been sentenced first to 1,075 years in jail but after a retrial, he was sentenced to 8,658 years in jail in Istanbul alongside 236 other alleged members or enablers of the network of his cult.

Reports say that the Turkish televangelist was well-known in Turkey over the years, especially for provocative TV shows broadcast on his own channel. On-screen, the cult leader surrounded himself with young women he called his “kittens,” who would declare their love for him and were often dressed in revealing clothing while he uttered opinions on religious and political matters.

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In 2018, Adnan Oktar and hundreds of his followers were arrested. The police revealed Adnan run a criminal ring under the disguise of an Islamic cult which carried out international antievolution campaigns through various publishing houses and media outlets. His TV channel was also closed.

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