Municipal Police Cannot Guard Morals
Lawyer Ergin Cinmen said it is a personal freedom to hold hands or cuddle in public places. He added the municipal police did not have the right to interfere citing "morals."
Ali Ekber Dogan, a researcher at the political sciences department of the Ankara University, agrees with lawyer Cinmen.
"They don't have such an authority under the municipal ordinance either," said Dogan.
"If the municipality just started this implementation, it would be possible to talk about a side-effect of discussions on adultery and family structure."
"What is being done here is making public aware once again about how conservative they are; coding the social places in the city as conservative places."
Lawyer Cinmen said that the articles of the Turkish Penal Code on immoral and indecent behavior in public places apply to sexual acts. He added that it would be up to the police forces not municipal people to deal with such acts anyway.
It is a crime to prevent people from enjoying their personal freedoms without a legal basis, said Cinmen.
"The prosecutors should have taken action after the media reports on the issue," he said.
"The month of Ramadan is close. If such implementations are not brought to an end, they could have grave outcomes."
He added that prosecutors and the mayor should take action.
"This is a step to make people feel the presence of the municipality, with a conservative identity, and to review their relationships," said Dogan, adding there isn't much the people could do personally to prevent such implementations. Non-governmental organizations and associations should handle the issue, he said.
"The prosecutors should investigate how long this implementation has been going on for, how big the interference is and how much the people's privacy is being violated," said Dogan.
"If the rights are being violated, prosecutors could press for legal action." (YS/EU/EA/YE)