A Turkish singer-songwriter has been slapped with a criminal complaint by the interior ministry over a song deemed "obscene" in the latest legal move targeting artists over alleged public indecency.

Authorities have in recent weeks stepped up sanctions on musicians and a TV production company as Turkey marks "Year of the Family".

The latest move, announced by the ministry on X late Thursday, targeted 40-year-old Mabel Matiz, a popular gay singer-songwriter, over his latest track called "Perperisan" (Turkish for 'exhausted') in which he alludes to his attraction from afar to a young man.

In its post, the ministry cited violations of Article 226 of Turkish penal code, which criminalises the dissemination, distribution or publication of "obscene" content -- an offence which carries a jail

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