| The producer and host of a Turkish TV news show was sentenced to nearly two years in jail last week for airing false provocations against Turkish Protestants. On April 5, a panel of judges ruled that Kerim Akbasâ programs on Baskent TV had incited violent attacks last year against Christian citizens and their places of worship in Ankara. In video clips from Akbasâ âHaber Dosyasiâ (News File) shows, he accuses local Protestant groups of creating âethnic, radical division to disturb the peace,â claiming that Protestants were maintaining secret links with foreign intelligence organizations, and paying Muslim young people to become Christians. Ten days after Akbasâ first âexpose,â a local church was attacked. Another local church received bomb threats. âThis may be the first such legal ruling here in favor of non-Muslims,â the plaintiffsâ attorney said. Despite Turkeyâs secular identity, Muslims who convert to Christianity have been repeatedly slandered with impunity by the Turkish media. |