Turkey seizes book due to pop star rumor

SUMMARY: Turkish police, backed by a court ruling, have confiscated unsold copies of a book which hints that chart-topping pop singer Tarkan is gay.

Turkish police have confiscated unsold copies of a book which hints that chart-topping pop singer Tarkan is gay, following a court ruling that the book violates the singer's rights.

Tarkan, who denies being gay, is Turkey's top-selling artist and the first Turkish singer to reach the European and Latin American music charts.

"Tarkan, The Star Phenomenon," by Aysun Yuksel does not say outright that the singer is gay but says his apparent use of make-up has raised questions.

Publisher Ozcan Sapan said he planned to appeal against the court's confiscation order.

Homosexuality is not a criminal offense in Turkey, but some articles of the highly flexible police regulations can be used very easily to ban certain activities on "public morality grounds," according to Lambda Istanbul, a gay and lesbian group in Turkey.