Ergenekon suspect convicted for insulting Fethullah Gülen

Muammer Karabulut, who stands accused in the investigation into Ergenekon -- a clandestine terrorist group that sought to undermine democratically elected government -- has been convicted and sentenced to one year in prison for insulting Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Karabulut wrote in his book “Protestan Kur'an” (Protestant Quran) that Gülen is “changing” the Muslim holy book, the Quran, and Islam by protesting against it and doing this through his “money empire” that “feeds from blood.”

The Ankara 2nd Court of First Instance handed down a one-year prison sentence to Karabulut and said the suspect had committed a “hate speech” crime. The court noted that Karabulut was convicted on charges of “insulting” because there is a legal loophole regarding hate speech in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The decision said the remarks on Gülen went beyond criticism and did not aim to inform the public.

The court converted Karabulut's sentence into TL 14,600, which he can opt to pay in lieu of serving more time in prison, and elected not to suspend the suspect's sentence because he did not express regret for his crime.

Published on Today's Zaman, 17 April 2013, Wednesday