07/06/2018 | Writer: Yıldız Tar

Refugee trans woman Ayda was attacked in Yalova, a city close to Istanbul.

Refugee trans woman narrowly escaped a lynching attempt Kaos GL - News Portal for LGBTI+

Refugee trans woman Ayda was attacked in Yalova, a city close to Istanbul. Called for action has been started on social media against hate crimes. Many other refugees in Yalova shared their experiences with KaosGL.org: “There have been four attacks in a week.”

Refugee trans woman Ayda wsa attacked by a crowded group of men in the neighborhood she lives. The group attacked Ayda and her boyfriend on the street. After the incident, Ayda was taken to the hospital.

After the incident, social media pages in different platforms and a campaign have been initiated. According to the page called My Name is Ayda on Twitter, following information has been shared:

“This is not the first”

“She was escaped from transphobia in her own country to Turkey, and now she has been exposed to transphobic violence here.

 “This is not the first attack in Yalova. In previous ones, everyone kept silent.”

“Four attacks in a week”

LGBTI+ and refugee rights activist Ramtin Zigorat accompanied Ayda during hospital and police station processes in Yalova. Zigorat told what has happened to KaosGL.org:

“Ayda and her boyfriend were attacked while they were going to home. Eight people gathered and waited for them in the neighborhood. They sweared at them and one of them run through them with a knife in his hand. When Ayda and her boyfriend told that they will call the police, the group punched them and beat them with stones. While times passed, the group got crowded like more than 10 people. During the beating, Ayda saw two police officers somewhere around and called them to save them. Police took Ayda and her boyfriend from there.

“In the police station, we accompanied Ayda. Police did not give the records to us. When we went to the station again today, they told that some of the perpetrators has been caught.

 “This was the fourth attack since the last one or two weeks. Previously, Ayda was attacked once by a person. We reported the person to the police.

“Another gey friend of us was also attacked by a homophobic person at night. We have also reported that person.”

“Ayda stayed in hospital many days after the lynch attempt”

N., who was one of the initiators of the webpage created for the solidarity with Ayda, told what has happened to Ayda and their solidarity message: 

“This is a terrible lynch attempt. In the previous verbal and physical attacks, they went to the police station but police sent them back on the grounds that they do not have any proof. Therefore, this time Ayda’s boyfriend recorded a video during the attack.

“In the police station, police did not give her the report. After the incident, she stayed in hospital for three days. She still has the marks of the attack on her body. She is also worried about her life due to the threat she is under.”

Call for action on social media

In the webpage, a call for action has been made for social media. A social media campaign was started at 21:00 on 3rd of July under the hashtag #mynameisayda.

Translation: Damla Umut Uzun


Tags: human rights
nefret