Unsuspecting influencer was sentenced to a suspended five month term for taking photos of a gigantic penis sculpture alongside him in Amsterdam’s Sex Museum. Photos were found objectionable by a Turkish court.
23-year-old Merve Taskin posted the questionable social media posts during a celebration of her birthday in Amsterdam last January. She has 571,000 Instagram fans.
One of the offending images showed Ms Taskin astride a huge penis and in another she stood behind a glass door made to appear like that of a brothel in the city’s famous Red Light District.
Three months later, she was arrested in Canakkale (Turkish city) on “obscenity” charges. The images were removed from her Instagram.
The offending image showed Ms Taskin standing astride a large penis, while another depicted her behind a transparent door that looked just like a red light district brothel.
Merve Taskin is 23 years old and has 571 000 Instagram followers. She regularly posts bikini pictures
Turkish law provides that anyone who makes obscene material may be sentenced to up to three years in prison.
Taskin was sentenced to six months imprisonment by a court. It was later reduced to six months by Taskin’s good behavior and suspended.
For another Instagram photo, the influencer took a selfie with her attorneys outside of court.
She wrote alongside the picture that her team had argued that the posts ‘are within the limits of freedom of expression’ and that the investigation showed ‘how far behind the world we are.’
However, Ms Taskin lamented ‘the court would not agree with us, so it sentenced me to five months in prison.’
The term is suspended meaning that the model will not be jailed unless she commits another offence.
Sex Museum director Monique van Marle told reporters she wrote to Ms Taskin, telling her: ‘Our museum is intended to educate people all around the world about the history of sex. We admire you for expressing yourself and posting such pictures.’
The influencer posed with her lawyers outside the court on Friday for another Instagram snap. Along with the photo, she wrote that her team had claimed that the postings were within freedom of expression and that an investigation revealed how far we have fallen behind. Ms Taskin, however, lamented that the court wouldn’t agree with her and sentenced me for five months.
Pictures of Ms Taskin’s luxurious vacations around the globe are posted by her
Turkey’s majority Muslim population is still observant of traditional dress codes.
Although women don’t have to cover their heads in public, some choose to do so. Some prefer to use a burka or a headscarf, and others opt for more traditional European looks.
A poster for the new TV Hamlet production was removed from the internet in October. The nude body and torso of the actress who appeared in it were covered by a white cloth.
On its website, the UK Foreign Office states that you should dress modestly when visiting mosques or religious shrines to avoid offense.