Places serving alcoholic beverages closed in central Turkish province

YOZGAT

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“In reference to the state of emergency decree, in order to protect security, public order and peace and in order to prevent violent acts from spreading, public places serving alcoholic beverages were shut down as long as the state of emergency is in force,” the statement released from the governor’s office read, as it added “intentional manslaughter, injuring and threatening in the aforementioned places” were among the reasons behind the decision.



“When the incidents are examined in the places that serve [alcohol] under the name of bars, night clubs and etc., it is seen that they intentionally threaten general security. A murder incident in the Sarıkaya district of our province presents an example of this,” the statement also read.



Turkey declared a three-month-long state of emergency after the failed seizure of government on July 15. Several decrees were issued in the Official Gazette after the announcement of the state of emergency.



Meanwhile, Yozgat Governor Kemal Yurtnaç commented on the decision, saying that “not all places serving alcohol” were shut down, but the ones “with low standards like bars” were closed.



“A total of 28 places like this exist in our province and precautions will be taken against them,” he said, adding that restaurants and cafes serving alcoholic beverages remained open in the province.



“We closed the places with low standards, where people were abstaining from going and afraid to go. The public shouldn’t be engaged in inaccurate feelings regarding the issue. The citizens we’ve talked to said that they were satisfied with the new decision,” he added.

Several businesses that serve alcoholic beverages have been shut down in the Central Anatolian province of Yozgat as a part of a state of emergency decree issued in the Official Gazette after the July 15 failed coup attempt, believed to have been masterminded by the followers of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen. Bars and night clubs were among the places closed by the Yozgat Governor’s Office.