Turkish Instagram model handed prison term for sharing 'racy' pictures

Duvar English 

A Turkish Instagram model was handed five months in prison for sharing "racy" pictures she took in Amsterdam. 

Merve Taşkın, 23, visited the Netherlands to celebrate her birthday in last year's June and shared pictures she took at the Sex Museum and Red Light District. She posed with sex toys for pictures.

Three months later, Taşkın went to Çanakkale in Turkey's northwest, where she was detained by gendarmerie officers upon the orders of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. The model found out that she was being probed for sharing pictures deemed "racy" and was facing three years in prison. 

Speaking at the Istanbul 20th Penal Court of First Instance, Taşkın said that she shared the pictures in Amsterdam and that the act is not a crime there. 

"I didn't commit a crime," she said.

The court initially handed six months in prison to Taşkın, but decreased it to five months over good conduct. The judgment's announcement was delayed, so the model won't be imprisoned. She will be imprisoned, however, if she commits a crime within five years. 

"This ruling shows how far behind we are in terms of the freedom of expression," Taşkın said. 

Belgian model faces up to 7 years in prison for posing nude in Hagia SophiaDomestic

Turkish teen handball player told she can't wear shorts, play with boysSport

Turkish man 'stole women's money with promise of modeling career'Domestic