A Turkish court on Friday released pop singer and songwriter Mabel Matiz under a travel ban after police detained him in an obscenity probe into the lyrics and video for his new song, “Ha Leylim,” Turkish Minute reported.
Matiz, 40, whose real name is Fatih Karaca, went to an İstanbul courthouse with his lawyers after prosecutors called him in.
Prosecutors asked a judge to impose the travel ban, which the judge granted before Matiz left the courthouse, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The probe began on August 13 under Article 226 of the Turkish Penal Code, which bars the spread of obscene work and carries a prison term of six months to three years.
Prosecutors have not said which words or scenes they deem obscene.
The August 11 video is set at a wedding and shows a groom trading long looks with another man, a scene widely read as a hint at a hidden gay love story.
A court blocked access to the song in Turkey on August 15 after the video sparked attacks from pro-government media and anti-LGBT social media accounts.
Matiz, who is openly gay, was acquitted on May 8 of the same charge over his earlier song “Perperişan” after a court found that the crime had not been proven.
