A Turkish-Armenian blogger vowed to appeal a day after an
Istanbul court sentenced him to more than a year in prison for
blasphemy.  In a phone interview with CNN, Sevan Nisanyan
accused Turkey's Islamic-rooted government of politically
persecuting him.  "When I attacked the Islamist establishment
they felt I overstepped my boundaries," said Nisanyan, who is a
member of Turkey's tiny Armenian ethnic minority. "Here I am an
Armenian doing something no Armenian has done in a Muslim
country. This is really the height of boldness, of impudence.
This is something you are not supposed to do."  According to
Turkey's semi-official Anatolian Agency, Nisanyan received a one
year and 45-day jail sentence for "openly denigrating the
religious values held by a certain portion of the population."
Anatolian reported that Nisanyan's initial nine-month jail
sentence was extended because "the crime was committed through
the press."  Turkey is a majority Muslim country.  Nisanyan said
the court cited a passage in his blog publ