[90999] Incident in Mersin: Woman prevented from entering pool due to her Muslim attire

Legal investigation launched following the prevention of a woman's entry to a pool in Mersin

The public prosecutor's office in the city of Mersin, Turkey, has opened an official investigation after a woman, identified in reports as A.T., claimed she was prevented from entering the swimming pool at her residential complex due to wearing a 'hasema' (modest swimsuit). According to Daily Islamist, the woman filed an official complaint after the site management prohibited her from using the facility.

According to reports in gdh and Sputnik Türkiye, the police issued arrest warrants for the site manager, Mehmet Güngör, and a pool employee, Baran Direk. While the employee was arrested, authorities discovered that the site manager is currently abroad.

The incident caused a stir in the Turkish media. A Haber, a conservative-oriented media outlet, described the incident as a return to the "February 28 mentality" (a reference to historical military-secular pressure against religious expressions in Turkey), and criticized the exclusion of the woman on religious grounds. At the same time, other media outlets such as TRT Haber and TGRT HABER covered the case as a legal violation justifying intervention by the judicial system.

Numerous news agencies, including Son Dakika Haberler, confirmed that the prosecutor's office continues to manage the case under the heading of discrimination based on religious attire, after the issue became the talk of the day on social media starting June 18, 2026.