The shipment was impounded because it lacked the documentation required by Turkish customs authorities and did not have the necessary license from the Turkish education ministry, TT said.

Kurdish literature is permitted under Turkish law but the country has attracted international criticism for its treatment of the Kurdish minority.

The 1,208 books, including 25 different Pippi titles, were sent on August 7 from Sweden by Komak, an organisation that runs an education project for Kurds in Turkey, TT said.

The books had been set for delivery to libraries in five Kurdish villages.

Astrid Lindgren's books about Pippi Longstocking, the freckle-faced girl whose antics have fired the imaginations of children around the world for years, have been translated into 85 languages and published in more than 100 countries.