Turkish court postpones trial of 19 Pride attendees, infringing their right to fair judicial process

The Turkish courts’ postponement until next April of the trial of 19 people accused of “unlawful assembly” after taking part in an LGBTI Pride march last year is clearly infringing their right to a fair trial, and sending a worrying signal from the judiciary, says ILGA-Europe.

During the hearing, all the defendants gave testimonies explaining how this trial is a cloud over their heads which negatively impacts their everyday lives. The trial has lasted one and a half years so far, and has affected them personally, academically, and professionally. This further postponement to 30 April 2021 means that the defendants will have been under this pressure for almost two years, and they argue that this constitutes a violation of their human rights.

According to Özgür Gür, from METU LGBTI+ Solidarity: “This trial is not only against the METU students, but against Pride marches around the country.”

Melike Balkan, from METU LGBTI+ Solidarity added: “We have repeatedly asked the police to give us the reason for their presence at the campus, and they continued to point to the ban by the governor of Ankara, but it is clear through the Turkish governments’ response to the UN that the governor could not ban an event on campus grounds. Police forces misled us and prevented us from exercising our basic human rights.”

According to Katrin Hugendubel, Advocacy Director at ILGA-Europe: “LGBTI rights have been systematically attacked in Turkey in recent years and by postponing the trial yet again without any comprehensible reasons, the courts are clearly infringing the right to a fair trial and fair judicial process. This is a worrying signal from Turkey’s judiciary, especially in the context of rising hate-crime and hate-speech against the LGBTI community in the country. In 2020, LGBTI activists in Turkey have seen their offices targeted by violence, their online spaces restricted, and the LGBTI community has been blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic by religious and political leaders.

“The right to freedom of assembly, which Turkey is bound to respect according to its Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, to which it is a party, needs to be clearly upheld. ILGA-Europe will continue to work with international institutions and supporters to try to ensure a fair trial that will respect the right to freedom of assembly and non-discrimination of LGBTI people in Turkey, and which will acquit the unlawfully accused activists at the next hearing.”

On Wednesday, in a separate case, a district court in Istanbul ruled that last year’s ban on the city’s Pride march was unlawful and in breach of the Turkish Constitution, the European Convention on Human rights, and other international agreements to which Turkey is party.


Further information:

  • Read our joint statement with 8 international human rights organisations here, and download it in English and Turkish.
  • Read our pre-trial press release, published on 7 December 2020.
  • Timeline of the story so far.

For further comment, contact: Ana Muñoz Padrós, ILGA-Europe: ana@ilga-europe.org+32 493 35 60 55

See also

News

Joint statement: Respect LGBTI+ rights in EU-Türkiye relations

Today, alongside five other international human rights organisations, we demand that the EU takes specific steps to ensure respect for the human rights of LGBTI […]
read more
Blog

EuroPride host, Malta is No’1 on our Rainbow Map, but it’s not all a pretty picture

An LGBTI poster vandalised just a few days before the EuroPride in Valletta and an LGBTIphobic attack during Gozo Pride are strong reminders that despite strong legal protections, LGBTI people do not always enjoy full inclusion and safety in Malta.
read more
News

Significant European Court judgments in two cases concerning violence against LGBTI people involving state agents

Two successful European Court cases brought against Russia underline state obligations to protect LGBTI community from violent counter demonstrators and general hate motivated violence.
read more
Blog

What we can learn from LGBTI activists against all odds

In countries where governments are pushing back on LGBTI people's rights, joining Pride events is a courageous act that carries higher risks. However, it is in their invisible, everyday work where LGBTI activists showcase their most profound courage. The LGBTI movement in Turkey, as well as in Armenia and Azerbaijan, serve as remarkable examples of resilience against all odds.
read more
Blog

How attacks on Pride are jeopardising Turkey’s hopes for accession to the EU

After the detention of 241 individuals at 11 Pride events this summer, the Turkish government must understand that respecting the rule of law and fundamental rights, including those of LGBTI people, is a precondition for becoming an EU member state.
read more
Podcast

The Frontline: Behind The Rainbow Map: Activism in the Lowest Ranking Countries

Every year since 2009, ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map has been ranking the 49 countries that make up Europe based on the legal and policy situations of […]
read more
Blog

The ways we’re working with private companies this Pride season

This year, as we do every year, ILGA-Europe have worked with private companies who wish to support our work. But we don’t take every offer that comes our way. Here’s they why, how and what when it comes to partnering with corporates to enhance our vital work with activist organisations across Europe!
read more
Blog

Monitoring Pride in Turkey 2023

A month after the Turkish elections, for which the winner, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan scapegoated LGBTI people, activists and allies have been rallying at Pride marches across the country. In this blog, we present an up-to-date account of the latest events, as reported by LGBTI activists on the ground in Turkey.
read more
Blog

The 5 largest attacks on the fundamental rights of LGBTI people in the EU last year

In our submission to the European Commission’s annual Rule of Law report, we’ve identified key trends in the systematic attacks on the rights of LGBTI […]
read more
News

Statement: EuroPride Goes Ahead in Belgrade Despite Calculated Obstruction

All at ILGA-Europe send our support and solidarity to the organisers of EuroPride and Belgrade Pride, the LGBTI community in Serbia and the Balkans, who […]
read more
News

Statement on the Ban of EuroPride Route in Belgrade

Today, the Serbian police announced an official ban on the route of the EuroPride march in Belgrade this coming Saturday. On August 28, the Serbian […]
read more
News

ILGA-Europe strongly condemns President Aleksandar Vučić’s statement announcing a cancellation of EuroPride 2022

“Equality, justice and freedom are not matters that can be put aside when political and economic problems arise."
read more
Blog

The timeline leading from anti-LGBTI Instagram posts to the “honour killing” of an LGBTI activist in Azerbaijan

The cousin of LGBTI activist Avaz Hafizli has been jailed for his horrific murder, which came on foot of protests against hateful Instagram posts by the Instagram star, Sevinj Huseynova, who called for the physical ‘removal’ of sexual minorities and trans people from Azerbaijan. The trial was a travesty of justice, according to activists.
read more
Blog

How well protected are LGBTI public events in Europe and Central Asia?

Oslo Pride was cancelled on Saturday in the wake of terrorist attack near the city’s largest LGBTI bar, while over 373 Pride participants were detained in the Turkish capital of Istanbul. Meanwhile, after years of mounting tension and attacks in Poland, Warsaw Pride went ahead without any trouble this weekend. Here’s our overview of the state and protection of freedom of assembly for LGBTI people in the region.
read more
Blog

How we created our brand-new website to support LGBTI activism

After 18 months of planning and work, the team at ILGA-Europe are proud to introduce our brand-new website. It shows the range of work we do and LGBTI activists and organisations can now easily find the information they need. Keep reading to learn more about how it was developed and how you can make the most of it.
read more
Blog

6 tips for LGBTI organisations partnering alongside a business in Pride season

How businesses engage with LGBTI inclusion has changed enormously in the last decade. Today, more businesses actively seek to work together with civil society organisations, while these may find new allies in the private sector. If you are part of an LGBTI group and are considering to collaborate with companies as Pride season kicks off, this blog and our Frontline podcast mini-series are for you.
read more
Report

ILGA-Europe’s submission to Progress Reports of the European Commission 2021

LGBTI Enlargement Review 2021 Even with the rise of Euroscepticism in the Western Balkans and Turkey, the EU accession process continues to be a driving […]
read more
Report

Enlargement Reviews – ILGA-Europe’s submissions to Progress Reports of the European Commission

ILGA-Europe has in partnership with national organisations provided the European Commission with detailed documentation on human rights violations against LGBTI people in all candidate and […]
read more
Press Release

Turkey acquits 19 LGBTI+ Pride marchers, honouring fundamental human rights, domestic law, and international commitments

Leading European LGBTI rights organisation, ILGA-Europe welcomes the decision of a Turkish court to acquit 19 activists, who were charged with “unlawful assembly” for their […]
read more
News

Turkey acquits 19 LGBTI+ Pride marchers, honouring fundamental human rights, domestic law, and international commitments

Leading European LGBTI rights organisation, ILGA-Europe welcomes the decision of a Turkish court to acquit 19 activists, who were charged with “unlawful assembly” for their […]
read more
News

Joint Statement: METU Pride human rights defenders must be acquitted at upcoming trial

On 8 October at 10:00 GMT+3, 19 LGBTI+ human rights defenders will return to court for what is expected to be the final hearing in the unfair trial they faced for organising and participating in a peaceful Pride march on the campus of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University (METU) on 10 May 2019.
read more
Blog

The stark situation for LGBTI rights in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Hungary and Poland have been in the spotlight a lot for their anti-LGBTI policies, but they are not the only countries where political leaders are acting against LGBTI communities. Here, we take a look at the political situation for LGBTI people in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the first half of 2021.
read more
Blog

What Pride Reminds: How anti-gender forces and blocks to progress on HIV/AIDS in Europe and Central Asia are intertwined

In moments like these, where even our former allies are using us to advance their own political goals, pride and its value become ever clearer.
read more
Podcast

The Frontline: Elif Shafak and the Power of Our Stories

The author of 18 books of fiction and non-fiction, including The Bastard of Istanbul,Honour, and Three Daughters of Eve, Elif has come under fire from the Turkish authorities […]
read more
News

We welcome today’s judgment from the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Association ACCEPT and Others v. Romania

We welcome today’s judgment from the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Association ACCEPT and Others v. Romania.  The Court found a […]
read more
Blog

Why online resource sharing is the way forward for the LGBTI movement

2020 proved to be a game-changer for LGBTI activists, sending almost every aspect of the work into the digital sphere. Luckily ILGA-Europe had been developing an online resource-sharing centre for a few years before COVID-19 hit, and we probably couldn’t have picked a better moment to launch it.
read more
Blog

How LGBTI activists can make terrific home-made videos

Guest blogger, Richard Roaf, director of VideoRev and an expert in helping activists develop low-budget viral campaign videos, shares his best tips for LGBTI activists filming home-made campaign videos and the learnings from the ‘Skills Boost’ workshop he conducted for ILGA-Europe.
read more
Report

ILGA-Europe’s submission to Progress Reports of the European Commission 2020

LGBTI ENLARGEMENT REVIEW 2020 In order to ensure an accurate representation of the developments relating to the human rights of LGBTI people ILGA-Europe and ERA, […]
read more
Blog

LGBTI activists create a Twitter storm for EU infringement procedures against Poland over so called ‘LGBT-free Zones’

ILGA-Europe launched an-hour long Twitter Storm demonstration on February 11, calling on the European Commission to take infringement procedures against Poland, making the Polish-based hashtag #infringementNOW trend
read more
Press Release

Turkish government steps up its attacks on LGBTI+ citizens

Europe’s leading LGBTI+ rights organisation, ILGA-Europe are alarmed to observe that in the past week the Turkish government has stepped up its systematic attacks on and defamation of LGBTI+ people and calls on President Erdo?an to guarantee the fundamental rights of all minorities without discrimination, as enshrined in the country’s Constitution.
read more