Turkey's 'most wanted' pop star caught after six months on the run

Çetin Aydın - ISTANBUL

A popular Turkish pop star was detained in Istanbul on Nov. 15 after six months on the run following a conviction for drug dealing.

Police detained Deniz Seki at a house in the Esenyurt district where she was hiding.

The singer was arrested early on Nov. 16 at the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan following a health check.

"If there is shadow of justice in this country – as I believe there is – it will be understood eventually that I am innocent," Seki said at the entrance to the courthourse.

"Ms. Deniz will be transfered to the Istanbul Courthouse tomorrow. She will be sent to Bakırköy Women's Prison after the conviction is read in her presence at the court. She will remain jailed for 2.5 years," Seki's lawyer Naim Karakaya told reporters on Nov. 15.

Amid rumors that she might have fled to to the Greek island of Mykonos, Seki was also allegedly seen in Istanbul's Tuzla neighborhood, as well as in the southwestern Turkish resort of Bodrum. It was also reported that she was hiding in Esenyurt, even organizing parties there.

Seki was sentenced to six years and three months in prison for selling drugs to her friends. After staying in prison for 7.5 months, she was released pending an appeal at Turkey's Court of Appeals. The court upheld the earlier ruling in late May, days before Seki vanished without a trace. 

“Instead of going to jail I prefer to be chased,” Seki was quoted as saying by the Turkish media in June.