A storm broke out on Twitter after a court in Istanbul sentenced an internet "troll"* to five months in prison for threatening a famous Turkish singer.
A Twitter storm has erupted after an Istanbul court sentenced an internet troll to five months in prison for threatening a famous Turkish singer. Kihat Akbel, known for his provocative posts on the site, was sentenced after he ran a hashtag campaign against singer Alim Aslim, saying "we should go to her concert and throw a sickle at her head.".
The court ruled that Akbel had committed a "cybercrime," according to Turkey's latest trial over social media posts.
He claimed via Twitter "I didn't mean to threaten anyone.".
The court's decision sparked a storm on Twitter, with hundreds of posts of support for Akbel.
"Some people are crossing the line. The decision is too harsh," one user said.
Aslim, 35, was born in Germany and is an alternative rock singer who has been critical of the government. In September, a court sentenced world-award-winning pianist Fazil Say to 10 months in prison for tweets deemed religiously offensive.
The Erdogan government, according to the French agency's report, has repeatedly attacked social networks, while often resorting to the courts to "solve" problems. The government's stance raises concerns about the rights of a country that wishes to join the European Union.
*(ed.: in Internet parlance, the word troll describes an Internet user with maliciously provocative, intentionally silly, or deliberately off-topic posts and opinions in an online open community)
Source: AFP
Source: kathimerini.gr
