Turkish pianist Fazıl Say acquitted of blasphemy charges after four-year legal battle

An Istanbul court ordered Say’s acquittal on charges of “insulting religious beliefs held by a section of society” for retweeting several lines attributed to the 11th century Persian poet Omar Khayyam in 2012.

In a post on his Instagram account after the four-year judicial struggle, Say thanked and congratulated his lawyer Meltem Akyol.

He had received a suspended 10-month prison sentence in April 2013 for retweeting Khayyam’s lines after three people filed a criminal complaint to the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office, accusing him of blasphemy.

An Istanbul court later accepted Say’s demand to cancel his suspended sentence, paving way for his retrial.

In the September 2013 retrial, an Istanbul court sentenced Say to 10 months in prison but again suspended the sentence as Say had no previous criminal record. 

The pianist then appealed this verdict at the Supreme Court of Appeals, which demanded in November 2014 that the controversial judgment against Say be reversed and he be acquitted.

On Oct. 26, 2015, the 8th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled by a majority vote that Say’s Twitter posts should be regarded as freedom of thought and expression and thus should not be punished.

Among the lines attributed to Khayyam that Say retweeted was: “You say its rivers will flow in wine. Is the Garden of Eden a drinking house?”