More than 80 people, including LGBTI+ rights advocates and activists, have been placed in pretrial detention on charges including "obscenity" as part of government operations targeting the queer community that began on Sep 12 under the name "My Family Is Safe." Among those detained is Nedime Erdoğan, a board member of the Ankara Rainbow Families Association (GALADER), an initiative founded by families of queer people.
The Ankara 6th Penal Judgeship of Peace cited allegations of "violating the Law on Associations," "facilitating the publication of obscene material" and "obscenity in places visible to children" as grounds for Erdoğan and others' detention.
In a statement responding to the detentions, GALADER said, "Nedime Erdoğan is not only the mother of an LGBTI+ child, but also a committed rights advocate who has fought for equal citizenship and human rights for years. Defending rights is not a crime, but a fundamental right."
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'Aren't we families, too?'
GALADER Chair Atilla Dirim told bianet that the operations, Erdoğan's detention and rhetoric targeting LGBTI+s had heightened anxiety among their families.
"They say, 'My Family Is Safe,' but we are not safe. Aren't we families, too? Do we have to mistreat our children to be recognized as families? They act as if our children don't have families," he said.
Dirim said LGBTI+s were being portrayed as the cause of safety concerns in society. "Our children are being made scapegoats. The real reasons families are not safe are not our children, but the murders of women we witness every day, violence against women and growing poverty," he said.
Dirim added that they would continue to challenge policies he described as discriminatory against LGBTI+s.
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(DE/NÖ/VK)
