ISTANBUL: An Istanbul court set off a Twitter storm yesterday after it handed a five-month suspended jail term to an Internet “troll” for threatening a popular Turkish rock singer.
Cihat Akbel, known for his provocative tweets, was convicted after he launched a hashtag campaign against singer Aylin Aslim, saying: “We must go to her concert and throw a sickle at her head.”
The court said on Wednesday that Akbel had committed an “Internet crime”, in the latest judicial ruling in Turkey over social media posts.
But Akbel denounced the sentence, which he said followed an 18-month trial, declaring on Twitter Thursday: “I didn’t mean to threaten anyone.”
The court decision also caused an outcry on Twitter, with hundreds tweeting in support for Akbel.
AFP
