Turkey Prosecutes 11 Individuals for Alleged Homosexual 'Indecency

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has targeted the LGBT community, blaming it for a declining birth rate, a stance that has led to increased scrutiny of LGBT rights groups in the country.

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Eleven leaders of the Genc LGBTI+ association, a Turkish LGBT rights group, went on trial on Wednesday, facing charges of “obscenity” and “violating the protection of the family”, according to their lawyer.

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The defendants stand accused of breaching an article of the Turkish constitution that protects family values, as well as publishing images on social media that show same-sex couples kissing, which authorities have deemed “obscene”.

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If found guilty, the leaders of the Genc LGBTI+ association could face up to three years in jail and have their civil rights suspended, a verdict that would be handed down by a court in the western city of Izmir.

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Although homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, the LGBT community is frequently targeted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has blamed it for a declining birth rate in the country.

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Kerem Dikmen, the association’s lawyer, has stated that the trial is part of a policy aimed at excluding LGBT+ people from the public sphere, and is an attack on freedom of expression and freedom of association.

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Dikmen, who is also on trial for being a member of the group’s supervisory board, has emphasized that the charges are not about obscenity, but rather about criminalizing legitimate and legal activities that are in line with the constitution, which he views as a form of dehumanization.

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LGBT rights campaigners have appealed against a court ruling issued in December that ordered the dissolution of the Genc LGBTI+ association on the basis of the same charges, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by the community in Turkey.

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According to Dikmen, the goal of the trial is to send a message to society, but he has vowed to continue defending human rights, saying “we will not give up defending human rights”.

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The next hearing in the case is scheduled to take place on October 14, which will be a crucial milestone in the ongoing trial of the Genc LGBTI+ association leaders.

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A draft amendment to Turkey’s penal code that proposed prosecuting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people for behavior deemed “contrary to biological sex and general morality” was withdrawn last November, but the LGBT community remains on high alert.

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Since 2015, the annual Pride march has been almost systematically banned and suppressed in Turkey, highlighting the country’s restrictive approach to LGBT rights and freedom of assembly.