DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Kemal Timur is a free man thanks to an acquittal handed down by Turkey’s Fourth Criminal Court June 26. “This is the Lord’s work!” Timur, 33, told Compass Direct news service. “It is a miracle for me and my family.” Timur, a Protestant Christian, was arrested over two years ago while distributing copies of the New Testament on the streets of Diyarbakir. Although Timur was released a day after his arrest, he was charged with slander six months later. Timur allegedly slandered Mohammed, the revered prophet of the Islamic religion. He was subsequently charged for the alleged comment, a crime punishable by a one-year prison sentence.
Timur’s lawyer, Kadir Pekdemir, told Compass Direct news service that he and his client were not expecting an acquittal at the June 26 hearing. Pekdemir had expected the case would be delayed by legal red tape, but instead the judge presiding over the case dismissed it. Timur’s case had been circulating in Turkish courts since January 2001.
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