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26 February 2021, Friday Ankara,Turkey

The Book titled "Makul Şüphe” (Reasonable Doubt) Declared to be Obscene Publication


Within the scope of an investigation conducted by Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the Board on Protection of Minors from Obscene Publications affiliated to The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services, examined the book titled "Makul Şüphe” (Reasonable Doubt), and decided that the expressions in the book, which depict the distorted relationships that are not suitable for the family structure of the Turkish society as well as unethical and indecent expressions it includes would have a detrimental effect on the spirituality and development of those under the age of 18.

The decision of the Ministry’s Board on Protecting Minors from Obscene Publications was published in the Official Gazette.

Within the scope of the investigation conducted by the Press Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, The Ministry’s Board on Protection of Minors from Obscene Publications was requested to evaluate the book named "Makul Şüphe", which was written by Whitney Gracia Williams and published for the first time in 2020 with the original title of "Reasonable Doubt".

In the examination of the book carried out by the Board, it was noted that there were obscene and indecent expressions in the whole content of the book, and there were statements about distorted relationships that were not suitable for the family structure of Turkish society.

Accordingly, it was decided that the book "Reasonable Doubt" would have a detrimental effect on the spirituality and development of those under the age of 18.

Until today, 14,013 periodicals and 27 books have been evaluated by the Ministry’s Board on Protection of Minors from Obscene Publications and it was decided that 20 books are harmful for minors. In addition, 5,058 judicial expert reports on obscenity crime have been prepared and sent to the relevant judicial authorities.