Pianist Fazıl Say did not attend the hearing held on Monday at Istanbul's 19th Criminal Court of Peace. During yesterday's trial, in which complainants and their lawyers were in attendance, the final defense was heard after which the court went into recess. After returning from the break, the court released their verdict charging Say with insulting religious values.

Taking into consideration the method of the crime, the perpetrator's intentions, their insistence on committing the crime as well as the time and place it was committed and the perpetrator's objective, the court initially issued a sentence of eight months imprisonment.

Based on the fact that the crime was committed through publication, the court ruled on increasing the sentence by half the amount of time sentenced for the initial charges, increasing the full sentence to a one-year duration. The court then decreased the sentence to ten months as a result of the suspect's behavior during trial. Due to the fact that Say has no previous convictions, the court's final ruling was to suspend the sentence.

The case against Fazıl Say, who was charged with 'insulting the religious values adopted by a segment of the public,' requested he be charged with a sentence spanning between nine months up to 18 months. The trial began in October.