Turkish Ministry of Justice: 79 LGBT People Imprisoned

According to the numbers of Turkish Ministry of Justice, there are 79 LGBT people in Turkish prisons, of whom 8 are detained and 71 convicted.

 

Ministry of Justice responded to the questions of Civil Society Association in Punishment Execution System (CİSST) Chairman Zafer Kıraç, who used the information act to learn about the situation of LGBT prisoners.

 

The ministry said that declaration of prisoners about their sexuality should be approved by a medical board. Only then, LGBT prisoners are allowed to stay in a different ward. Kıraç criticizes this obligation, fearing that it might result in examinations incompatible with human dignity.

 

The editor of the prison page for Kaos GL Magazine thinks that the figures presented by the Ministry is quite low. As it is not very possible to know someone is LGBT without their declaration, the statistics go incomplete. 

 

Another interesting point in the Ministry’s answer is related to the use of common spaces and social activities. LGBT prisoners are kept away from other prisoners as long as “the legislation provisions and the physical conditions of institutions allow.”

 

Ministry’s addressing LGBT people as “with LGBT” is also under the criticism of LGBT activists as the term alludes to illness.