A retired general was given a suspended sentence of almost a year in jail on Tuesday for insulting Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, state run Anatolian news agency reported.The case against General Saldiray Berk, who is also a suspect in an alleged coup plot, was filed by the prime minister.
Erdogan's lawyer petitioned the Ankara prosecutor's office last year, citing a speech Berk gave in 2008 during a visit to an village in eastern Turkey.
Berk was accused of asking his audience: "Do you know the prime minister has sold the country?"
Finding Berk guilty of the charge, the court, in the eastern province of Erzincan, suspended the 11 month and 20 day sentence for five years.