Turkey airport ad warns travellers that Sweden ‘has the highest rape rate worldwide’
A TURKISH newspaper has warned travellers making their way to Scandinavia that “Sweden has the highest rape rate worldwide”.
The message comes amid an ongoing international scandal concerning Turkey’s underage sex law.
Pro-government paper Gunes posted the warning on two billboards at Ataturk Airport’s International Terminal, in both English and Turkish.
It reads: "Travel Warning! Did you know that Sweden has the highest rape rate worldwide?"
The message appears to be a retaliation to a tweet by a Swedish government official shared last month.
In July, Stockholm’s foreign minister said Turkey should respect children’s rights after a news ticker at an airport in Vienna displayed the message: "Turkey allows sex with children under the age of 15".
The headline referred to a ruling by Turkey’s constitutional court to ditch a law that defined all sexual activities with children as abuse.
The headline soon went viral on social media, prompting outrage among Turks.
Ankara officials say the legislation was binned on a technicality, and that the government now has six months to enact replacement measures.
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The Turkish foreign ministry met with diplomats from both countries involved over the incidents at the time.
Ankara's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the headline highlighted the "racism, anti-Islamic and anti-Turkish (attitude) in Europe".
Meanwhile, the Swedish Embassy in Ankara insisted the latest rape claim is based on “misconceptions” on Friday.
It said comparing reported rapes in Sweden to those in other countries “does not describe reality correctly” due to different legal and statistical systems.
Relations between Turkey and Europe have deteriorated since last month’s attempted coup, which led to the deaths of more than 270 people.
Officials in Ankara accuse its European allies of not doing enough to support the elected government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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