A circular released by the Istanbul Governorship earlier this month (August 17) suggested that alcohol consumption would be banned in public spaces due allegedly to disorderly conduct by intoxicated individuals. In a follow-up statement, the governorship clarified the earlier circular, saying that there would be no new ban in place. Instead, the circular had been intended as a reminder regarding existing regulations on alcohol sale and use.
Clarifying that the earlier circular was a reminder and not a new ban, the governorship released the following statement yesterday (August 30):
“In our circular published on August 17, 2023, we reminded the relevant institutions (district governorship and municipalities) that the implementation of existing regulations regarding alcohol sales and consumption as stipulated by Law No. 4250 should be fulfilled. We had published this circular as a reminder following complaints from our muhtars [local neighborhood authorities], social media, and individual citizens regarding disorderly conduct incidents that occurred due to alcohol consumption in their districts.”
The original circular from the Istanbul Governorship had stipulated the following alcohol-related regulations:
-Sale of alcohol to those under 18 years of age is forbidden
-Outside of restaurants serving alcoholic beverages, no alcohol sales may take place between 22:00-06:00
-Drunken behavior that disturbs public peace will not be tolerated
-The sale and consumption of alcohol outside of permitted alcohol-selling businesses in public areas such as parks, picnic areas, coasts, and beaches is forbidden
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-Relevant authorities have been instructed to enforce existing alcohol regulations to ensure that the public peace is not disturbed.
The section of the original circular that had raised the most questions was the purported ban on alcohol consumption on public spaces such as parks and beaches. Turkish law does not explicitly prohibit alcohol consumption in public, and numerous districts of Istanbul are popular for open-bottle consumption, particularly the city’s nightlife and sea-side districts such as Kadıköy and Beyoğlu. The original circular also alleged that the majority of incidents that ‘disturb the public peace’ involve intoxicated individuals.
Turkey’s conservative ruling government under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been criticized for years by opposition voters for their efforts to clamp down on alcohol in Turkey’s public sphere. Sky-high taxes on alcoholic beverages and limits on permits such as liquor licenses have been criticized by many as an interference in lifestyle and private affairs. During the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns of 2021, sale of alcohol was prohibited in a move seen as targeting the country’s secular, alcohol-consuming segments. The ban, announced just before a full two-week lockdown in May of that year, led to a rare boom in alcohol sales during the month of Ramadan as many citizens stocked up on booze ahead of the ban. The government, meanwhile, has justified such measures as being motivated by health and public safety considerations.
Click here to read Medyascope coverage from 2022 on Turkey’s soaring alcohol taxes.
