EU chides Turkey over tweeting pianist blasphemy conviction

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union chided Turkey after leading pianist Fazil Say was handed a suspended jail term on Monday for tweets critics said were an insult to Islam and Muslims.

A spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Brussels was "concerned" by the 10-month suspended term which "underlines the importance for Turkey to fully respect freedom of expression."

A court handed down the sentence after finding Say guilty of "insulting religious values of a part of the population".

The pianist was not present in court during the sentencing and will be under a "supervised release", meaning he will remain free as long as he does not repeat a similar crime within five years.