Alcohol ban in public spaces overturned by Turkish court

AFYONKARAHİSAR - Doğan News Agency

The governor’s office had said the ban on alcohol would reduce the number of traffic accidents and prevent public disturbances. Hürriyet photo

An administrative court in the inner Aegean province of Afyonkarahisar has struck down a circular published last year prohibiting the use of alcohol in public spaces, declaring that the ban "lacks a legal basis.”
 
Following an objection filed by a citizen at the court, judges ruled today that the governor’s office did not have the authority to introduce a ban on an activity which is not prohibited by the law, in this case, the use of alcohol.
 
Gov. İrfan Balkanlıoğlu signed the circular on April 27, 2012, prohibiting the use and sale of alcohol in "parks and gardens open to public use." The prohibition also extended to inside all vehicles in parks.
 
The governor’s office had said the ban on alcohol would reduce the number of traffic accidents and prevent public disturbances.
 
The Afyonkarahisar Governor’s Office has the right to apply to the Council of State regarding the administrative court’s decision.