In Istanbul, nearly 40 people died from bootleg liquor within 80 hours
21 January 2025
Yes, you read that right. Faced with escalating restrictions on alcohol, people in Türkiye are turning to bootleg (homemade) liquor. Over the weekend, 92 people have been hospitalised for bootleg alcohol poisoning, and at least 38 of them have died so far, with many others still in life-threatening conditions.
While authorities have detained 15 suspects and charged four with "premeditated murder", the real cause lies within the system itself. For years, the Turkish government has increasingly restricted the production and consumption of alcohol, especially in more conservative and rural locations.
Ostensibly justified on public health grounds, these measures are widely believed to have religious motivations. The demonisation of alcohol has been a key element of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğawinning 'divide and rule' strategy for 20 years. With it, he wants to divide society into two – the secular one and the teetotal Islamist one, where alcohol is shunned.
 | Yakup Can Yargıç The cost of alcohol has skyrocketed: a 50cl beer now averages €2.32 in supermarkets, climbing to €5–6 in bars. The tax on Türkiye's national drink, rakı, has jumped by over 2,500% since 2010, an increase that the record-high inflation can't explain. Purchasing alcohol in markets after 22.00 is also forbidden. A dinner with rakı can now easily cost 25% of an average monthly salary when dining with friends. Despite this, demand for alcoholic beverages remains strong – unsurprisingly, given Anatolia and Thrace's regionally deep historical ties to alcohol. As the government continues to overlook this demand, illegal production has - as always - stepped in to fill the gap, culminating in a long-anticipated crisis. |
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