Sawt Falasteen - Istanbul bars rock bands accused of 'satanism'

The Besiktas district governor's office in Turkey's largest city justified the cancellation of the concerts by saying the events had caused a "public reaction" because of "their incompatibility with our societal values".

The Zorlu Center, where the "metal" bands were to have played Tuesday and Wednesday, was barred from holding events until Thursday.

Opposition to the bands was highlighted by the Yeni Akit newspaper which is close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It ran a story demanding the banning of the concerts under the headline "the satanist children of the devil are arriving in Istanbul". It stated that the bands had been banned in Russia and Poland "for having spread satanic propaganda and poisoned the spirit of young people".

Slaughter to Prevail, a "deathcore" rock band, were formed in Russia but are now based in the United States. Their lead guitarist is British. Behemoth are a Polish "death metal" group.

Yeni Akit said the groups "promote satanism through their writing and visuals representing the devil". It said Turkey's social media had been flooded with calls to ban the groups.

Slaughter to Prevail singer Alex Terrible said in an instagram video that one "Islamist group" had put pressure on the government to ban them.

He said the Satanist claims were "completely not true" and that he "believes in God". But the singer added that the band could not go against the Turkish government and that it was a "very sad situation".

P.Tamimi--SF-PST