BREAKING NEWS – Instanbul, Turkey – A controversial Turkish televangelist known for giving his sermons while surrounded by a group of scantily clad women he calls his “kittens” was arrested in Istanbul on numerous charges including sex assault and fraud. Adnan Oktar, also known as Harun Yahya, was arrested in his villa in Istanbul by the city’s police financial crimes unit, Al Jazeera reported. About 234 of his followers were also being sought in a series of raids that has spanned five cities, including Istanbul. Oktar and his followers are accused of forming a criminal gang, fraud, kidnapping, money laundering, exploitation of religious sentiments, blackmail and sexual abuse. So far, 166 of the suspects have been detained in raids at 120 addresses in four provinces. Dozens of weapons and ammunition, a bulletproof vest and an armored vehicle were seized during the search. In a written confession Oktar stated, “I knew what I was doing was wrong, that’s why I had to have weapons and an armored vehicle to defend myself, just in case God attacked me because of the countless sins I committed.”
