Police fine two people for drinking alcohol on public beach in northern Turkey
ZONGULDAK
The incident occurred at the province’s Kapuz Beach, where an unidentified 32-year-old medical doctor arrived with her colleague to swim.
After they settled on the beach and started to drink beer, an official at the beach warned them that drinking alcohol is forbidden there.
The women objected to the official’s warning, saying that such a ban in a public area was not legal.
As tension rose between the women and the official, police officers arrived at the scene and demanded that the women go with them to the police station, saying a complaint had been made about them.
Police subsequently fined each of the women 109 Turkish Liras over an alleged legal violation and the women were released after given their testimonies.
One of the women accused the beach official of engaging in “gender apartheid.”
“He told us that if we were male they would have just thrown us out,” she added.
Nejat Uludüz, deputy manager of Cultural and Social Affairs at the Zonguldak Municipality, said there is a ban on drinking and bringing alcoholic beverages to the beach, adding that there is a restaurant that sells alcoholic beverages near the beach.
“Drinking on the beach is forbidden. There is a restaurant near the beach where you can get alcohol. There is no problem if you drink there. As a municipality we can from now on increase measures on the beach.
We could increase the number of signs indicating that drinking on the beach is prohibited,” Uludüz added.