Trans prisoner Buse still in men's prison despite completing gender affirmation surgery

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"I am at the Tekirdağ No.2 Prison right now. I am in a very difficult situation. Some of my belongings were lost here. When I was at the Metris Prison, I was very comfortable, I was being treated, I am having great difficulty here.

"I will continue my life as a woman, but I am in a prison where men stay. I expect the court to issue the required verdict so that I can get my new identity card."

Buse, who used to say, "I need to be freed from the prison in my body," is at the end of the gender confirmation process, but she is now faced with another problem.

Buse's struggle began years ago. She first applied to the Tekirdağ 1st Civil Court of First Instance and got permission for the start of the gender confirmation process.

However, the prison administration found the medical team report submitted to the court file inadequate and requested a new report, including the phrase "imperative for mental health" for the continuation of the gender confirmation process.

Afterwards, Buse was referred to Bakırköy Psychiatric and Neurological Diseases Hospital and a report including the medical opinion that "gender change is imperative for mental health" was issued.

After the report, Buse was again referred to the Forensic Medicine Institution and its 6th Specialization Council stated in a report dated June 2018 that Buse was "transgender in nature" and "gender change is appropriate for her mental health."

Surgery in prison infirmary

Just when Buse was preparing for a gender reassignment surgery, the Ministry of Health put up an obstacle. It permitted the surgery on the condition that Buse covers the expenses.

After solving the financial problems, Buse went through gender confirmation surgery at the infirmary of the Metris Prison.

Another struggle

Buse had the body that she had dreamed of for years, but another struggle began for her. She wants to obtain a women's ID card and to be transferred to a women's prison.

For this, the application filed by her attorneys, Eren Keskin, Jiyan Tosun and Jiyan Kaya, needs to be approved.

Sending a letter to her attorneys, Buse said she had been transferred to the Tekirdağ Prison where men stay.

The conditions were better in the Metris Prison, she wrote in the letter. "I have requested gauze and other hygiene needs from the infirmary. I hope the results will be positive or I may get an infection.

"When I was in rehabilitation, the report that I had surgery was sent to the court. I am asking for your support in this matter. I am waiting for the court to make a decision first so that I can regain my female identity."

"The court should issue a decision quickly"

About Buse's demands, Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair Eren Keskin said, "Buse went through the surgery. Because care is needed following the surgery, she was in a better situation in Metris. The case for her to receive her identity cart continues. You know, she had a very heavy surgery for gender change.

"Currently, the lawsuit we filed against Tekirdağ Prison and for her to obtain a woman's identity card continues. She stays alone. She is waiting for this case to be concluded as soon as possible so that she can go to the women's prison as soon as possible. It was already a difficult operation and she had this operation in prison.

"She would always say, 'I want to be freed from the prison in my body. She stood trial in a very unlawful way and was sentenced to an aggravated life sentence. She was a woman who was tried without a lawyer in the state security courts of that time, and getting out of prison was never a priority. Her priority has always been to be a woman and live like a woman.

"As her lawyers, we will follow this process. We will fight for Buse's legal demands." (EMK/VK)