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World National |
Turkey seizes book due to pop star rumorSUMMARY: Turkish police, backed by a court ruling, have confiscated unsold copies of a book which hints that chart-topping pop singer Tarkan is gay. Turkish police have confiscated unsold copies of a book which hints that chart-topping pop singer Tarkan is gay, following a court ruling that the book violates the singer’s rights. Tarkan, who denies being gay, is Turkey’s top-selling artist and the first Turkish singer to reach the European and Latin American music charts. « Tarkan, The Star Phenomenon, » by Aysun Yuksel does not say outright that the singer is gay but says his apparent use of make-up has raised questions. Publisher Ozcan Sapan said he planned to appeal against the court’s confiscation order. Homosexuality is not a criminal offense in Turkey, but some articles of the highly flexible police regulations can be used very easily to ban certain activities on « public morality grounds, » according to Lambda Istanbul, a gay and lesbian group in Turkey. |