Politicians, artists and rights groups have criticized Turkish authorities for invoking “public morals,” “public order” and obscenity laws to prosecute artists and restrict concerts, songs and festivals, saying the practice amounts to policing morality in a country that is constitutionally secular.
On Wednesday the Family and Social Services Ministry asked a court to block access to popular singer Mabel Matiz’s new single, “Perperişan,” citing threats to public order and health.
The latest single by Mabel Matiz, Turkey’s preeminent pop singer and songwriter, will likely be banned after a complaint by the Ministry of Family and Social Services about it being a “threat to the public order” for erotic song lyrics. Yes, lyrics are now cause for censorship. https://t.co/gB3WdUNzU0
— Kenan Behzat Sharpe (@kenan_sharpe) September 18, 2025
A court has accepted the request under Article 8/A of Turkey’s Internet Law, which allows the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) to enforce access bans on digital platforms.
Although the order aims to remove Perperişan from services like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, the song is still widely accessible in Turkey.
Matiz responded that the lyrics were metaphorical and inspired by folk tradition and said authorities were misinterpreting his work. Mustafa Destici, leader of the nationalist Grand Union Party (BBP) and an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have called for criminal penalties, saying that content seen as promoting LGBT themes under artistic cover should be punished.
Reacting to the blocking order, Aylin Nazlıaka, deputy chair of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said policing artistic content had turned Turkey into “a regime of bans.”
Actors and musicians also voiced support. Actor Birce Akalay said morality had nothing to do with songs.
The same day, Iranian musician Mohsen Namjoo, who lives in exile in the United States, said high-level officials had canceled his sold-out Turkey tour over “religious sensitivities.”
İranlı şarkıcı Mohsen Namjoo’nun konserleri iptal edilmiş! @OfficialMNamjoo kendi ülkesinde şarkı söyleyemiyor. Şarkılarında ayetlerden alıntı yaptığı gerekçesiyle hakkında dava açıldığı için İran’ı terketmiş; ABD’de yaşıyor. Ne gariptir ki, Anayasası’nda “laik” yazan… pic.twitter.com/KT9H1eyD3q
— Banu Guven (@banuguven) September 18, 2025
Namjoo, sentenced to jail in Iran for citing Quranic verses in his songs, said Turkish authorities canceled a 2022 concert on similar grounds. He told fans refunds would be issued for 16,000 tickets and promised them a free online performance instead.
Fans denounced the decision online and said the cancellation aligned Turkey with Iran in policing art.
On Tuesday a court jailed five members of the underground metal band Sarinvomit, saying their lyrics described an attack on Islam’s holiest site with chemical weapons and amounted to “incitement to hatred and enmity.”
Music outlets reported the arrests while fans circulated messages of solidarity.
This week’s crackdown followed another high-profile case. Earlier this month prosecutors in İstanbul opened an obscenity probe into girl band Manifest’s age-restricted show.
A judge released the six singers under judicial supervision and imposed a travel ban on September 9. Courts also blocked access to concert videos.
Opposition politicians called it morality policing. CHP Deputy Chair Gökçe Gökçen said authorities were targeting women’s clothing “as if there were a morality police.” CHP lawmaker Murat Emir said what was being imposed was not morality but “a rotten order.”
Free expression groups amplified the case.
#Turkey 🇹🇷 @bianet_eng reports that girl band "Manifest" has been barred from leaving Turkey after prosecutors launched an investigation into a recent concert in İstanbul, accusing them of "obscenity" and "violating" morality. https://t.co/aI3cGgkTgb pic.twitter.com/777YRqerEs
— IFEX (@IFEX) September 16, 2025
IFEX, a global network of more than 100 free expression organizations, reported the investigation, travel bans and blocking orders, noting that obscenity probes now extended to musicians.
Women’s rights advocates tied the charges to a wider pattern. Lawyer Hülya Gülbahar, speaking through the EŞİK platform, argued that the cases showed an attempt to roll back secular norms.
The restrictions were not only about obscenity.
In late June satirical weekly LeMan published a cartoon showing two winged figures shaking hands above a war-torn city, one identifying as “Muhammad” and the other as “Moses.”
The cartoon sparked outrage and protests outside the magazine’s office that turned violent.
Turkish prosecutors accuse the magazine’s staff of “inciting hatred and enmity” and “publicly demeaning religious values,” citing the cartoon as insulting religious beliefs.
LeMan insists the cartoon was misinterpreted, arguing the names used are common among Muslims and that the work was meant to draw attention to civilians’ suffering during conflict, not to mock prophets or religious tradition.
CGFoE is appalled by the treatment of LeMan magazine staff in Istanbul. Following the 06/ 26 cartoon which was misrepresented by government officials, 5 staff have been jailed, one is wanted by the police & the entire outlet faces investigations. https://t.co/UfdJ4V1XYu
— Columbia Global Freedom of Expression (@ColumbiaGFoE) July 15, 2025
Regardless, four staff members were promptly jailed pending trial over the cartoon. Two additional staff members were charged and sought under arrest warrants and one of them, Editor-in-Chief Aslan Özdemir, was arrested after returning from abroad.
In May authorities also arrested rapper Lvbel C5 on charges of encouraging drug use in his lyrics. Pop star Demet Akalın questioned why a young artist was jailed while other performers rallied behind him with “Free Lvbel” messages.
What critics call censoring of artistic expression has not been limited to music or drawings. The İstanbul Film Festival removed its decade-old queer cinema section in March. The İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week Committee called it censorship by omission and urged a boycott. Organizers said it was a programming choice, but queer film groups staged counter-screenings.
The wave of prosecutions and cancellations has led to a debate over how broadly “morality” and “public order” clauses are being applied in Turkey.
Opposition politicians say the government is using them to restrict artistic freedom under secular law, while artists defend their peers by stressing audience choice and freedom of artistic expression.
Turkey’s constitution defines the country as secular, but prosecutors continue to rely on secular statutes to restrict art in the name of protecting “morality” and “youth.” The legal framing differs from religious law, yet the outcome resembles morality policing elsewhere with blocked songs, canceled shows and criminal cases hinging on lyrics, clothing or stagecraft.
For decades censorship of art in Turkey mainly targeted Kurdish-language music or political content, such as the case of Grup Yorum, whose members were jailed for praising leftist militants. Many Kurdish singers still face prosecution. What stands out lately is the expansion of restrictions into sexuality, obscenity and morality and the backlash from politicians, artists and rights groups, who see it as an assault on Turkey’s secular order.