Aggressor in Attacking LGBTİ Activist Case Arrested

Click to read the article in Kurdish / Turkish

Two people who attacked Kırmızı Şemsiye (Red Umbrella) Association President and LGBTİ activist Kemal Ördek have been sentenced to up to 5 years in prison and judicial fine on charges of robbery, threat and insult. The third attacker has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for qualified sexual assault in addition to the aforementioned crimes, and sent to prison.

Evaluating the decision to bianet, attorney Deniz Aksoy said “As victim’s sex worker identity is taken as a basis, this penalty imposed on ground of sexual assault will be precedential”.

What had happened?

LGBTI activist Kemal Ördek had been sexually assaulted at his house in Ankara on July 5, Sunday and suspects claimed to have responded the police as “We are real man officer, you would have a feeling for us” following the police having expressed “[The immorality of] This Lute people has not somehow still not come to an end” have been let go.

Following the assault, Nils Muiznieks; European Council Human Rights Commissioner had made a written statement regarding the incident and called on the authorities to announce explicitly that they would not tolerate hate speech and crimes against LGBTI persons.

Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul MP Mahmut Tanal, CHP Malatya MP Veli Ağbaba and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul MP Garo Paylan had brought the issue to the Parliament and asked the Minister for Interior Affairs Sebahattin Öztürk about the assault of Ördek and what had happened afterwards.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Rupert Colville had made a statement regarding the assault of Ördek, reminded of the commitment Turkey has made for LGBTI persons during the Universal Periodic Evaluation and called on the authorities to take measures for the fight against homophobic, transphobic violence and discrimination. (ÇT/TK)