Homosexual Sex Given Green Light in Turkish Court

A Turkish court has tried a man accused of selling gay and group sex videos. While homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey it is still considered taboo and LGBT people face many legal restrictions. The court could have charged him with selling "unnatural sex" videos but instead charged him with a lower level crime of selling the videos in an illegal location.

"In its verdict, the Istanbul court said: Most European countries have given gay relationships the equivalence of marriage, and in Holland gay marriages were made legal a few years back. In a world of modern societies, it is not possible to say intercourse among members of the same sex is unnatural.

The verdict also read: Since the action happens in private places and does not include children it is not criminal. The term unnatural sexual behavior' should be seen from a narrow perspective; otherwise there is the risk of judging every sexual relationship outside of certain limitations unnatural. It is without doubt that the images are eccentric. Although this kind of sexual activity is not common in societies, it is a fact that in every society collective sexual relationships exist." (Turkish Daily News)

This is a significant gay rights development in Turkey, a country that typically shuns homosexuality while struggling to be accepted into the European Union and advance as a modern nation.

Turkey Urged to Respect LGBT People’s Right to Freedom of Association

"A local court in Istanbul ordered the closure of the Turkish lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender solidarity organization, Lambda Istanbul. The court ruled on May 29 in favor of a complaint by the Istanbul Governor's Office that Lambda Istanbul's objectives were against Turkish "moral values and family structure".

Amnesty International considers it an act of discrimination and a violation of the right to freedom of expression to close or attempt to close organizations on the basis of advocating for the rights of persons with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities."

Please use Amnesty International's online form to contact Besir Atalay - Turkey's Minister of Interior. (The text is already there, just sign your name and submit).

Amnesty International Online Action Center

Demand Justice for LGBT Citizens of Turkey!

Join us as we stad with the Human Rights Watch:

"A police raid on a Turkish human rights organization is the latest incident in an escalating pattern of harassment of gay rights groups, Human Rights Watch said today. In a letter to Turkish Minister of Interior Beºir Atalay, Human Rights Watch called on the government to cease official harassment of groups working on sexual orientation and gender identity issues, and to ensure training of all criminal-justice officials in human rights principles.

The government should reform laws that allow officials to harass groups like Lambda Istanbul in order to guarantee everyone’s human rights.

On April 7, 2008, approximately 12 police in plainclothes entered the headquarters of the Lambda Istanbul Cultural Center, which defends the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Their warrant cited suspicion that Lambda “facilitates prostitution, acts as a go-between [and] provides a place for [prostitution],” criminalized under Article 227 of Turkey’s Penal Code. The raid took place 10 days before an April 17 court hearing in a case against Lambda Istanbul brought by the Istanbul Governor’s Office, accusing the group of violating Turkish “moral values and its family structure.

Lambda Istanbul has suffered harassment by the Turkish authorities since 2007, when the Istanbul Governor’s Office demanded its closure, arguing the name and objectives of the group were offensive to Turkish “moral values and its family structure.” The Prosecutor’s Office rejected the complaint in July 2007, but the governor’s office pursued the case to a higher court. After four hearings, the case is still pending.

Under human rights law, including the European Convention on Human Rights, which applies in Turkey, the Turkish authorities must guarantee freedom of association to all, without discrimination."

Please email the Turkish Minister of Interior and demand justice!


Email: Click here!

*Graphic courtesy of charlesfred from Creative Commons