A Turkish court has given Sedat Kapanoglu, the founder of one of Turkey’s most popular online forums, Eksi Sözlük (Sour Dictionary), a 10 month suspended sentence for blasphemy.
A police complaint was filed regarding writers of a discussion thread opened on the website in 2011, alleging insults to the Prophet Muhammad. Some 40 of the website’s members were detained by the police and charged with insulting religion on the thread.
The court ruled that Kapanoglu had committed the crime of “insulting the religious values shared by a group of society” and sentenced him to the 10 months in jail. The court suspended the sentence, based on the time passed since the crime was committed and the means used for it. [Dogan News Agency] Read more
