Tourist in hot water for pole dance on Turkish flagpole

A foreign tourist was on Thursday facing a criminal probe for offending "the nation's moral values" for performing a pole dance on a Turkish flagpole in the tourist hotspot of Cappadocia, the governor's office said.

Prosecutors opened the probe after footage emerged on social media of a young woman in blue leggings and a white t-shirt performing several gravity-defying manoeuvres on a flagpole on a hilltop in Uchisar.

But the 12-second performance drew the wrath of the authorities with the governor's office of Nevsehir province filing a criminal complaint against the unidentified woman, without giving her name, nationality nor age, prompting an investigation by the area's chief public prosecutor.

"Regarding the inappropriate behaviour of a foreign national at a Turkish flagpole in our city... a criminal complaint was filed and a legal investigation opened by Nevsehir's chief public prosecutor's office under articles 300 and 301 of the Turkish penal code," the governorate said in a statement.

"The governor's office is closely monitoring this heinous incident, which we see as showing disrespect for our nation's moral values."

Under Article 300, it is illegal to publicly disrespect the Turkish flag in an offence which can carry a jail term of up to three years.

Article 301 deals with the offence of insulting Turkishness, the Turkish nation, its government or national heroes and carries a prison term of up to two years.

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