29/08/2024 | Writer: Yıldız Tar
The European Court of Human Rights has combined Kaos GL’s applications concerning the 2016 March Against Homophobia and the 2017 indefinite bans on LGBTI+ events in Ankara. The Court has inquired whether these actions constitute violations of discrimination and freedom of assembly. The Turkish government has been given a deadline of 1 October to provide their response.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has combined two applications submitted by the Kaos GL Association concerning bans on LGBTI+ events in Ankara. These applications address the prohibition of the 2016 March Against Homophobia and the indefinite ban on LGBTI+ events imposed by the Ankara Governorship in 2017 during the State of Emergency.
The ECtHR is reviewing the case in the context of freedom of assembly and association, the prohibition of discrimination, and the right to an effective remedy. The Court has requested that the Turkish government provide responses regarding potential violations of these rights by 1 October.
Is preventing the march a pressing social need?
The ECtHR has questioned whether preventing the Anti-Homophobia March on 18 May 2016 violated the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. The Court is seeking clarification on the legal basis for this intervention, whether it addressed a pressing social need, and if the actions taken were proportionate.
Additionally, the ECtHR has asked the Turkish government if alternative measures were considered to allow the march to proceed instead of imposing a ban, and if there was any discriminatory practice involved in their decision-making.
ECtHR questions Turkey on discrimination and freedom of assembly
The ECtHR has raised questions regarding the Ankara Governorship’s indefinite ban on all LGBTI+ activities in the city. The ECtHR inquired about the legal basis of this decision, suggesting that it might have obstructed the association’s ability to achieve its lawful objectives. The Court also asked whether the ban violated the prohibition of discrimination, what steps, if any, were taken to compensate for the damage, and if the ban was proportionate.
Turkey has been given until 1 October to respond to these questions or to state its stance on the potential for a friendly settlement in the case.
Bans on LGBTI+s in Ankara
In 2016, the Ankara Governorship prevented the March Against Homophobia and Transphobia, which was to be held on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia on 17 May. Citing “certain social sensitivities,” the Governorship deemed the march inappropriate and refused to provide security for it. They further appealed to the Regional Administrative Court, which lifted the stay of execution against this decision. Kaos GL challenged this ban at the ECtHR.
In 2017, during the State of Emergency, the Governorship issued an indefinite ban that extended beyond marches to prohibit all activities related to LGBTI+ issues. Even after the State of Emergency ended, in 2018, the Ankara Governorship’s Legal Affairs Branch Directorate sent another ban decision to the Provincial Security Directorate on similar grounds.
Kaos GL Association brought the ban before ECtHR after their demand regarding a stay of execution about the ban announced by the Governorship was declined and their application was rejected by the Constitutional Court. The association emphasized that even though the ban decision was removed in 2019 by the Regional Administrative Court, there is also a need to evaluate the devastation and harm experienced due to the ban decision, which caused various violation of rights.
Within the scope of the ECtHR application, Kaos GL also reminded that Ankara Governorship issued another ban with the same content, in 2018, while the case against the ban decision in 2017 was pending, and in this way the administration invalidated the decision before the verdict of the Court was announced.
Remarking that even the state of emergency is declared for three months, the ban decision is announced indefinitely, the Association emphasized that both the LGBTI+ community and LGBTI+ associations were victimized by the ban.
Kaos GL applied to ECtHR by drawing attention to the violations of rights, which are arranged within the context of the European Convention on Human Rights, like the prohibition of degrading treatment, right to respect to privacy, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, right to assembly and demonstration, right of organization, right to form an association, right to an effective remedy and prohibition of discrimination.
Tags: human rights
