Turkish pianist sentenced to imprisonment for blasphemy

The famous Turkish pianist Fazıl Say was sentenced to a suspended 10-month prison term today for “insulting religious beliefs held by a section of society,” Hurriyet Daily News reports.

The controversial case caused a fiery reaction both in Turkey and abroad.

“I am sorry for my country after the court’s ruling,” Say is quoted by Hurriyet as saying after the hearing. “I am disappointed in the sense of freedom of speech. I am worried more for the state of freedom of speech and belief in Turkey than I am for my own sentence,” he said.

The lawsuit was filed after Say retweeted several lines attributed to poet Omar Khayyam, saying: “You say its rivers will flow in wine. Is the Garden of Eden a drinking house? You say you will give two houris to each Muslim. Is the Garden of Eden a whorehouse?”