Transexual Turkish Pop Star Avoids Jail Sentence
22nd December 2008
Who says freedom of speech is passé in Turkey? Popular Turkish singer/transexual Bulent Ersoy has been acquitted over comments she made on a TV show questioning the country's military campaign against Kurdish separatist guerrillas. Ersoy reportedly said if she were able to give birth, she wouldn't allow her children to fight in Iraq, where the Turkish army has been battling Kurdish forces in a conflict that's killed over 40,000 people since 1984. Apparently this was a big brouhaha in Turkey. But since the country is keen to join the European Union, the country amended a few laws (under EU pressure, of course) allowing people to criticize the government, and a court decided yesterday that Ersoy's comments were within the bounds of freedom of expression. If convicted of the crime, Ersoy, 56, who is one of Turkey's best-loved singers, would've faced up to two and a half years in jail.
Source: Limewire