Women and LGBTI+s gathered at Kadıköy Pier on İstanbul's Asian side yesterday to protest what they describe as discriminatory provisions in the draft of the 11th Judicial Reform Package, which proposes prison sentences of up to three years for “promoting behaviors that contradict innate biological sex,” effectively targeting LGBTI+s.
Proposed judicial package introduces criminal penalties targeting LGBTI+ community
Before the protest could begin, police used loudspeakers to declare the gathering “unauthorized” and ordered participants to disperse. Moments later, officers surrounded the group with riot shields and pushed journalists outside the police perimeter.
The police held the group in place for about half an hour, during which they conducted ID checks. Some officers reportedly singled out participants by saying, “I know you, stay right here,” a phrase understood by some rights defenders as a form of profiling.
Following the identity checks, two people were detained. The police blockade was lifted shortly afterward.
11. Yargı Paketi’ne karşı Kadıköy İskelesi’nde bir araya gelen kadın ve LGBTİ+’ların eylemine polis izin vermiyor. Hak savunucularını çembere aldılar. pic.twitter.com/Exj2cnXDQ7
— Tuğçe Yılmaz (@tucyil) October 26, 2025
In a statement, the Kadıköy District Governor’s Office said the event was banned on the grounds that it could “cause public unrest” and “threaten national security, public order, public morals, and the rights and freedoms of others.” It also referred to the event as a “gathering of a propagandistic nature.”
The Constitution, however, guarantees the right to peaceful assembly. Article 34 states, “Everyone has the right to hold unarmed and peaceful meetings and demonstration marches without prior permission.”
Turkey’s new judicial package would criminalize LGBTI+ journalism, press freedom groups warn
Statement blocked by police: ‘We will not give up our civil rights’
The activists were not able not read aloud the statement prepared by the “We Will Not Give Up Our Civil Rights” campaign group, was not read aloud at the scene due to police intervention. It was later shared with the public:
The draft of the 11th Judicial Reform Package, which was recently brought to public attention, introduces an extremely broad and vague definition of crime and criminality. It includes language such as “acts contrary to public morality,” “failure to behave according to one’s innate biological sex,” and “obstruction of public transportation.” It also proposes treating 15–18-year-olds as adults in criminal proceedings.
With this new judicial package, the government seeks to further restrict the already shrinking space for women and LGBTI+s. We are on the streets today to say no to the 11th Judicial Package. Until now, we have stopped traffic, blocked roads, and defended our lives while fighting for our rights, against femicides, the overnight withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, and a judiciary that upholds male dominance. Now, the draft aims to criminalize these forms of protest by adding a new offense to Article 223 of the Turkish Penal Code: “obstructing the movement of public transportation.” This proposed change targets our constitutional right to protest and demonstrate.
The scope of Article 225 of the Penal Code—“obscene acts”—is also being expanded. The new wording explicitly targets LGBTI+ people by criminalizing “attitudes and behaviors that contradict one’s biological sex and public morality,” as well as “encouraging, praising, or promoting such behavior,” including “same-sex engagement or marriage ceremonies.”
With this wording, even something as simple as a woman cutting her hair short could be criminalized under the pretense of promoting behavior against public morality. The government, which already dictates how women should work inside the home and how many children they should have through its “Year of the Family” campaign, is now attempting to decide how we dress, where we go, and how we behave in public.
We, as women and queers, will not allow this.
The draft also seeks to raise the minimum age for gender transition from 18 to 25. It attempts to reinstate the requirement—previously struck down by the Constitutional Court—that a person must be “permanently infertile” to be eligible for gender reassignment.
The draft stipulates that applicants can only receive psychological and medical care at hospitals approved by the Ministry of Health. This signals a refusal to recognize trans people’s right to choose their own medical care. Given the government’s hostility, it is not difficult to imagine how trans people could face pressure and violence in these institutions.
The proposal imposes criminal penalties on anyone who begins the gender transition process before the age of 25 and prescribes prison sentences ranging from three to seven years for healthcare professionals involved. These vague, arbitrary provisions—left to the discretion of judges and aligned with government policy—amount to a direct attack on our LGBTI+ existence and our struggle for equal, free, and dignified lives. We will not allow hate to be legitimized.
‘Children are not spared from the draft’
This draft law does not only target women and LGBTI+ people—it also targets children.
By changing the existing provision that allows for reduced sentences for 15–18-year-olds convicted of intentional homicide, the draft paves the way for minors to be punished as adults.
At a time when Turkey is becoming a haven for organized crime groups, this move further threatens the country’s youth. While deepening poverty, inequality, and discrimination go unaddressed, and children are forced into cheap labor through MESEM [apprenticeship program for students], it is those same children—left without a future and pushed into crime—who are made to bear the cost. We reject this scapegoating and demand accountability for the forces that turn children into killers.
Everyone deserves to live in safe spaces. A bill that affects all segments of society cannot be brought before parliament in this form. We oppose the forced marriage of children at age 16, trying minors as adults, and subjecting them to exploitative labor. We reject the idea that a person must wait until 25 to make decisions about their own body.
Today, we call out to everyone: We will not allow the rights we’ve won through our struggles to be taken away. Let us stand together against the anti-people 11th Judicial Package.
(TY/VK)
