January 29, 2008

Turkish Professor Gets Suspended Sentence for Insulting Nation's Founder

By Aisha Labi

A professor of politics and political theory at Gazi University, in Ankara, Turkey, was convicted on Monday of insulting the memory of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic, and was given a 15-month suspended prison sentence.

The professor, Atilla Yayla, had been charged by the public prosecutor in the coastal city of Izmir, Turkey, following comments he made during a public panel discussion there in November 2006.

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