The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Metin Külünk submitted a legislative proposal on Sept. 8 to the Turkish parliament, asking for those involved in consensual incest relationships to be given jail terms between eight and 12 years.
Külünk’s proposal said the 104th article of the Turkish Criminal Law should add the following provision:
“The person aged above 18 involved in a sexual relationship with their kin by direct line, sibling, uncle, aunt or nephew without force, threat, or cheating is to be sentenced between eight and 12 years in jail, regardless of whether a complaint is made or not.”
Külünk did not touch upon other types of incestual relationships, including non-consensual ones, in the proposal.
Külünk’s proposal came after a famous TV personality Murat Başoğlu was seen cavorting with his niece Burcu Başoğlu Kabadayı on a boat in the Aegean Sea. Başoğlu is 50 years old and his niece is 35 years old, and both of them are married.
Following the incident, a Turkish prosecutor launched an investigation into Başoğlu on charges of “having acted immodestly,” as there cannot be a legal complaint regarding the issue of incest as per Turkish laws—as long as the relationship is a consensual one.
The issue has been a hot topic nowadays in Turkey, which has prompted the AKP deputy to bring the subject to the parliament’s agenda.
“It has once again become a current issue that the sexual relationship between close relatives, known in common usage as a relationship of incest, does not appear in the Turkish Criminal Law, has not been recognized as a crime and its penalty has not been indicated for certain” Külünk indicated, in the proposal’s reasoning.
“Due to this unpleasant and unsettling issue currently on the agenda, the relevant prosecutor has been able to launch an investigation on charges of ‘having acted immodestly’ and has put the public mind at ease. But, this and such crimes damage the family institution, negatively affect the social security climate, and lead to a feeling that the authority of the state of law is insufficient,” Külünk noted further.