11/01/2024 | Writer: Gözde Demirbilek
The trial of Ahmet Yıldız was postponed after the the request regarding Yıldız’s family to be heard was once again rejected. The court prevented the press from attending the hearing by locking the courtroom door.
The lawsuit which was brought after Marmara University student Ahmet Yıldız’s murder by their father in 2008 due to being gay, has been dragging on for years. The search for justice for Ahmet Yıldız is now in its fifteenth year and right back where it started. On September 8, 2009, the first hearing of the case was held and it has been expected that the fugitive murderer, father Yahya Yıldız, would be found since then.
The 39th hearing of the case was held today at 14:05 at Istanbul Anadolu Court, Kartal 5th Heavy Penal Court. HEVİ LGBTI+ Association, Ankara Bar Association LGBTI+ Rights Center, Istanbul Trans Pride Week, Istanbul Human Rights Association (IHD) Branch Management, Ankara IHD LGBTI+ Rights Commission, SPoD, Kaos GL and Bianet followed the trial.
The court did not allow the press and the public to attend the hearing without any justification. The bailiff locked the courtroom door after the press asked to observe the trial. While the lawyer was making a statement, the president of the court said, “What is the purpose of the press here? The hearing will take 5 minutes anyway.” Hevi LGBTI+ Association’s request to get involved in the case was rejected. The lawyers in the case requested that the family be heard through the presentation of a legal precedent. The judge rejected the request and adjourned the case to 27 June 2024 at 13:35. The lawyers were led out of the courtroom without restraint.
What had happened?
Ahmet Yıldız had told their experiences in an article written for Beargi magazine, two months before being murdered, as follows:
“The battle lines were drawn after our interview. I received plenty of SMS and calls went on incessantly. I hoped to win my family back. I wanted them to be a part of my life as a friend. However, I think it’s better to give up. Was it really fair claiming them to change their minds, while they were demanding the same from me? One part will never give up, and persisting will make us have uneasy meetings. I think, I have to believe in the power of time and lessen our tearful communications. Well, I believe that time will be on our side. I have to be FAMILY-FREE for a while longer.”
Ahmet Yıldız, who wrote in this article that he had gone to the Üsküdar Public Prosecutor’s Office after receiving threats, was murdered in Üsküdar on 15 July 2008. The search for justice for Ahmet began a year after his murder. The first hearing of the case, attended by representatives of Amnesty International, Lambdaİstanbul, Kaos GL, Bianet and the German Consulate, took place on 8 September 2009. The prosecutor and the court rejected Lambdaİstanbul’s request to intervene in the case on the grounds that Lambdaİstanbul was “not directly concerned” by the murder of Ahmet Yıldız because he was gay. It was decided to arrest the accused and call witnesses.
However, the murderer’ father, Yahya Yıldız, has not yet been in the dock in the case, which entered its 15th year in September this year.
Translation: Selma Koçak
Tags: human rights, family
