Turkey: 'Gay and group sex approved by court'

This is truly a groundbreaking court decision in Turkey, as reported by Turkish Daily News (via Kaos GL) :

A suspect caught selling films of group and gay sex was judged by an Istanbul court not to have been selling material portraying “unnatural sex” and was sentenced only for sale of illegal pornographic material.

The Turkish Penal Code demands higher penalties for the sale of movies that include “unnatural” intercourse. The court sentenced the suspect on the lesser charge of selling pornographic films in an illegal location.

The verdict referred to the principles of privacy and equality from the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. Previous verdicts of the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe were also noted by the court.

The referenced verdict of European court said, “Even if it shocks or brings discomfort to some members of society, gay intercourse between consenting adults is not criminal.”

In its verdict, the Istanbul court said: “Most European countries have given gay relationships the equivalence of marriage, and in Holland gay marriages were made legal a few years back. In a world of modern societies, it is not possible to say intercourse among members of the same sex is unnatural.”

The verdict also read: “Since the action happens in private places and does not include children it is not criminal. The term ‘unnatural sexual behavior' should be seen from a narrow perspective; otherwise there is the risk of judging every sexual relationship outside of certain limitations unnatural. It is without doubt that the images are eccentric. Although this kind of sexual activity is not common in societies, it is a fact that in every society collective sexual relationships exist.”