written by Emre Peker
Monday April 15, 2013
ISTANBUL — Acclaimed Turkish concert pianist Fazil Say was given a suspended jail sentence in Istanbul on Monday for insulting Islam on social-media website Twitter, in a court decision that supporters say protects Islamic values but critics maintain curbs free speech.
The judgment marked the culmination of a trial for blasphemy that started in October after Mr. Say published a series of tweets in April 2012 mocking the call to prayer and comparing heaven to a brothel.
Those tweets, with half a dozen others, led prosecutors to accuse the 43-year-old pianist of "explicitly insulting religious values," an offense that can carry a 12-month jail sentence.
The judge on Monday gave Mr. Say a 10-month jail sentence but suspended it by five years, meaning the pianist won't be jailed if he doesn't repeat the offense within that period.
Mr. Say, who is also a leading composer, served as a European Union culture ambassador in 2008 and is currently performing in Germany.
He tweeted only once after the judgment—offering a link to a statement on his official Facebook page in which he expressed regret over the decision.
"On behalf of my country, I'm sorry about the decision reached at the end of the trial. I'm disappointed in terms of free speech. That I have been punished despite an absence of guilt is disconcerting not so much for me, but for freedom of speech and belief in Turkey," the statement said.
News of the ruling, which dominated headlines on major Turkish news outlets and reverberated across social-media websites, marks the latest cause célèbre for Turks alarmed by creeping Islamic conservatism.
Religious conservatives have become increasingly assertive since the ruling Justice and Development Party, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, swept to power in 2003 pledging to build an Islam-infused democracy.
Monday's judgment comes as Mr. Erdogan is seeking to overhaul Turkey's constitution to ascend to a presidency with expanded powers, in a process he has called "advanced democracy."
Turkish Culture Minister Omer Celik said he wouldn't reject a judgment handed down by the court, but stressed that Turkey's government was making efforts to boost freedom of speech, including the passing of a law on Thursday by parliament that narrowed the definition of terrorist propaganda.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, called Monday for Turkey to "fully respect freedom of speech."
Human-rights campaigners said the judgment spotlighted Turkey's poor record on freedom of expression.
"He stays out of jail but he's guilty; he basically got a black mark on him. Courts are simply wasting their time restricting even trivial tweets. The system in Turkey has a huge restriction on free speech, it's a big problem," said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch, a New-York based campaigning group.
Plaintiffs hailed the decision and accused the media of "deliberately misleading the public" on Mr. Say's tweets.
Plaintiff Ali Emre Bukagili said in an emailed statement on Monday that Mr. Say's comments were criminal, citing a tweet by the pianist questioning whether it is a paradox that all "jagoffs, cheap-jacks, thieves and jesters" are devotees of Allah.
"The fact that Fazil Say, who insulted the holy values of the three Abrahamic religions, is a famous person doesn't make the crime less important, nor does it justify it," Mr. Bukagili's statement said.
The polarized views of the verdict mark the latest furor pitting conservatives against secularists in a debate over the standard for Turkish public life
In February, tensions surfaced after photos were leaked showing proposed new uniforms for Turkey's national carrier, Turkish Airlines, THYAO.IS +1.11% which many secular-minded Turks judged to be conservative.
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