Turkish Twitter user sentenced to 15 months for 'humiliating religious values' because he had 'Allah' in his handle

Court rules teacher used the nickname 'Allah C.C.' on Twitter

However, the defendant claimed his account was hacked

'C.C.' is an abbreviation of the honorific '[Allah's] glory is so almighty'

In March, Turkey's prime minister tried to ban Twitter altogether

That ban was overturned a month later in the Turkish high court



Yesterday, the government's ban on YouTube was also overturned

A teacher in Turkey has been jailed for 'humiliating religious values' after he used the nickname 'Allah C.C.' on Twitter.

The user, named Ertan P, was accused by prosecutors in the eastern province of Muş of 'writing harmful content' for including the name of God and the Prophet.

The court rejected the defendant's claim that his account was hacked and he was handed 15 months behind bars.

A teacher using the Twitter nickname 'Allah C.C.' has been jailed in Turkey for 'humiliating religious values'

C.C. is the abbreviation of the honorific Arabic phrase 'Celle Celaluhu' which means, '[Allah's] glory is so almighty.' His handle, still live on Twitter, also included the Prophet's name.



On the indictment he was charged with 'humiliating the religious values accepted by a part of the people', Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Prosecutors said: 'The suspect has accepted the use of the nickname and the posts, but in order to avoid the crime, he said posts could have been written after the account was hacked.

'It is understood that this claim is unfounded and the investigation files prove him guilty as charged.'

In March, Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tried to ban Twitter altogether after some users posted links suggesting government corruption.

However, the following month Erdogan said he had to comply with a Turkish high court ruling to unblock Twitter after it ruled the ban violated the right to free expression.

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already tried to block Twitter and YouTube

Erdogan, who had vowed to 'rip out the roots' of Twitter for allowing the postings, said he didn't agree with the decision.

Turkey then later tried to block access to YouTube.

But yesterday the ban on YouTube was overturned after the highest court ruled it was a violation of the country's freedom of expression.