22/03/2024 | Writer: Selma Koçak
On March 20, the first trial concerning LGBTI+s attempt to organize a press statement in Yeldeğirmeni on June 5, 2022, was held. The court has postponed the case until September 23.
Photo: Zilan Azad
The first hearing of the case against the 30th Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week Committee and the 10th İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week March Committee over their attempt to hold a press conference in Yeldeğirmeni on 5 June 2022 was held on Wednesday, 20 March at 12.15pm. The hearing was held at the 63rd Criminal Court of First Instance at the Anadolu Courthouse in Istanbul.
The İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week Committee provided updates on the trial via its social media account. According to the committee, the trial of 11 people began amid a heavy police presence, with riot police and security guards stationed in the courtroom. Despite the lawyers' request to have the police removed, the court rejected the request.
The Pride Week Committee shared on their social media platforms that during the trial, the court questioned the defendants, asking, “Do you know the person who made the call?”
According to a report by Zilan Azad from Siyasi Haber, Yusuf, one of the defendants, stated, “LGBTI+ associations and institutions should not be criminalized. This government owes us a livelihood. Even after the earthquake, we still lack information about the conditions of the places and homes where transgender sex workers operate in the earthquake-affected provinces. The fact that we are being prosecuted for organizing a press statement, while transgender women, who have been restricted by the district governorship on a street where they have existed and worked for years without providing any workplace by this state just a week ago on Bayram Street, indicates the presence of LGBTI+ phobia itself. None of the slogans shouted constitute a crime according to the constitutional court, yet the fact that they are prominently mentioned in the indictment highlights the criminalization imposed on us, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, and intersex individuals.”
“The elements of the alleged crime have not been established, no violence or provocative slogans”
During their defense, the defendants contended that the police issued the order to “disperse” only after they had already been surrounded, without creating a security corridor, thereby challenging the legality of the police’s actions.
According to statements made by Lawyer Emrah Baran to Bianet’s Evrim Kepenek:
“The elements of the alleged crime have not been established, there is no violence or provocative slogans. Moreover, there was no specific warning given, nor was there a security corridor for dispersal. Numerous precedents from the Court of Cassation support this argument. Consequently, the individuals on trial are members of the LGBTI+ community, who have long been victims of hate crimes and violence. Considering the link between Article 2911 and freedom of expression, authorities should exercise more leniency. History has shown us that in the Middle Ages, individuals were unjustly tried as witches. Perhaps in the years to come, those involved in these trials will look back with shame. We demand an acquittal verdict.”
What happened?
On June 5, 2022, members of the LGBTI+ community who had assembled in Kadıköy Yeldeğirmeni to mark the beginning of Pride Month were subjected to brutal treatment by law enforcement officers. Around 18:30 pm, police officers initiated an assault on the LGBTI+ individuals who had gathered in Yeldeğirmeni to commemorate the start of Pride Month. They encircled the group and proceeded to detain many of them, employing handcuffs and shields to obscure their actions and prevent onlookers from capturing the events.
Statements shared via the Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week social media account shed light on the incident, expressing outrage at the use of violence against individuals exercising their rights: “İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week is 30 years old. Despite gathering peacefully on the streets of Yeldeğirmeni, Kadıköy, to celebrate the onset of Pride Month, members of the LGBTI+ community were met with police violence and arbitrary detentions. We stand firm in our resolve to resist and overcome such acts of oppression. The countdown has begun for the Istanbul Pride March. This year, we stand united in resistance once again #direniyoruz (resisting)!”
Tags: human rights
