Turkish author acquitted of insulting Islam - TV

Turkish author Nedim Gursel poses during an interview with Reuters in Istanbul, June 2, 2009.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish court has acquitted Turkish-French author Nedim Gursel of charges he insulted Islam in his book "The Daughters of Allah", broadcaster CNN Turk reported on Thursday.

Predominantly Muslim but officially secular Turkey's bid to join the European Union has been hampered by court cases against writers and academics over freedom of speech issues.

No one at the court was available to comment on the report.

The charges against Gursel of insulting religion and endangering security through inciting hatred had been based on his characterisations of the Prophet Mohammad and his family in the book.

Unusually, Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate, responsible for the activities of mosques and theological teaching, had intervened in the trial with testimony against the defendant.

He would have faced between one and three years in jail if found guilty. However, few of the court cases brought against writers or journalists have resulted in prison sentences.

Nobel Literature Prize winner Orhan Pamuk went on trial for "insulting Turkishness" when he told a Swiss magazine Turkey was responsible for the deaths of 30,000 Kurds and a million Armenians, but his case was dropped on a technicality.