ANKARA, Turkey — A Turkish prosecutor slapped criminal charges against two converts to Christianity in early October, accusing them of "insulting Turkishness," inciting hatred against Islam and secretly compiling data on private citizens for a local Bible correspondence course.
Hakan Tastan, 37, and Turan Topal, 46, joined the ranks of 97 other Turkish citizens hauled into court in the last 16 months over alleged violations of the country’s controversial Article 301 restricting freedom of speech. If convicted, the accused men could be sentenced from six months up to three years in prison. "It’s all lies," Topal said. "Someone is trying to make us look like a Christian tarikat [banned religious sect]."
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