Mr. Say published a series of tweets in April 2012 mocking the call to prayer and comparing heaven to a brothel.
Lucky for him, apostasy is an offense that carry a 12-month jail sentence in Turkey. In Muslim countries/Islamic societies, apostasy is a very serious crime punishable to death.
This is what he had to say after the sentencing
“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 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.
http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-211648/
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