20 September 2013

Turkish pianist Fazil Say gets jail term for 'religiously offensive' tweets about Muslims

AN ISTANBUL court has handed a 10-month suspended jail term to world-renowned Turkish pianist Fazil Say for a second time in a retrial over social media posts deemed religiously offensive.

Say, who was not present at Friday's hearing, was also placed on a two-year probation, his lawyer Meltem Akyol said, adding that he planned to appeal the verdict.

Say was originally sentenced on April 15 for allegedly inciting religious hatred and insulating Islamic values in a series of tweets he posted last year.

A higher Istanbul court then overturned the conviction on "procedural flaws" and a retrial was ordered. [AFP] Read more