Albayrak Sentenced for Ataturk Crime

Hakan Albayrak, a former columnist for the "Milli Gazete" (National Newspaper) was sent to the Ankara Kalecik Prison on May 20 after the Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the 15 months of prison sentence handed to him.

Albayrak has been convicted based on a law about crimes against Ataturk.

Albayrak will remain in prison for five months. The Supreme Court of Appeals demanded that the 15 months of prison sentence handed to Mehmet Terzi, the newspaper's editor-in-chief of the time, be commuted to a fine.

He was convicted although he apologized

Albayrak was sued for writing: "Mustafa Kemal Pasha was buried without the funeral prayer. And neither the state nor the public was disturbed by this," in his article titled, "A Funeral Prayer."

Before his trial began, Albayrak, in a later article, told readers that he had been misinformed, and apologized. However, both Albayrak and Terzi were sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Albayrak wrote about that article and the trial period in the "Gercek Hayat" (Real Life) magazine.

"As far as I understand, they are telling me, 'You have to pay the price of not being pro-Ataturk.' And I am telling them, 'ok, fine'" he wrote in that magazine.

The Association for Free Though and Education Rights (Ozgur Der) had criticized Albayrak's conviction. (EO/BB/EA/YE)