Turkish court rules to appoint trustees to two brothels

Fevzi Kızılkoyun - BURSA

Two brothels in southern Turkey will be managed by trustees following a recent court ruling.

Eleven people were arrested last week for bringing women from the southern provinces of Adana and Mersin and the Aegean province of İzmir to the western province of Bursa and forcing them into prostitution.

After the arrests, the court in Bursa also seized the suspects’ properties, which included two legal brothels in Adana.

The court ruling stated that the Adana Tax Directorate will select the trustees that will manage the brothels.

Trustees take care of businesses seized by the state as a precautionary measure until a final court verdict is issued. If the confiscation is permanent, then trustees usually liquidate the assets by selling them, and the revenue is transferred to the Treasury.

Prostitution in officially registered brothels, known as “general houses,” is legal in Turkey.

Illegal prostitution, on the other hand, is classified as operating a brothel without a license or being a sex worker without having health check-ups or a license, which are punishable with one year in prison.

There are also heavy jail sentences for human trafficking and related crimes.