Police seal off trans women’s houses in İstanbul

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The houses where trans women live in İstanbul Bayram Street and Küçük Bayram Street were sealed off by the police yesterday (June 28).

As reported by Kaos GL LGBTI+ Association, at least three houses were sealed off. Showing the related decision to the women from their phones, the police did not wait for the lawyers to arrive and evicted the houses. While activists came to Küçük Bayram Street to support the women, the police teams warned them that there should not be any gathering on the street.

'What is done is against the law'

Kerem Dikmen, the Legal Coordinator of the Kaos GL, underlined that what was done was against the law:

As a lawyer, one needs to have detailed information to comment on this; but we are informed that the houses have been sealed off and people are asked to evict the houses in 15 minutes. We do not know based on what administrative proceeding it is done; but it needs to be put in this way: After these decisions are notified to people, they need to be given a particular amount of time. Especially the ones residing in the house must be given time because it is against the law to seal it off if the related person uses the house as one's residence.

Seals removed in Küçük Bayram Street

In a statement made on the Twitter account of 29th İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week Committee, it has been announced that the seals in Küçük Bayram Street have been removed from the houses:

"Sealed off at around 5 p.m. today, two days after the Pride March, the houses have been opened again thanks to the resistance of the women living in the street and support of activists and lawyers."

KÜÇÜK BAYRAM SOKAK'TAKİ MÜHÜRLER KALKTI! Onur Yürüyüşü'nden 2 gün sonra bugün 17.00 gibi mühürlenen evler, sokakta yaşayan kadınların direnci, aktivistlerin ve avukatların desteğiyle yeniden açıldı. Hukuksuzluklarınız, zorbalıklarınız bizi yıldıramaz. Asla yalnız yürümeyeceğiz!

— İstanbul LGBTİ+ Onur Haftası (@istanbulpride) June 28, 2021

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'It is not a coincidence'

The 29th İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week Committee has stated that it is not a coincidence that the houses have been sealed off right after the 19th İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride March on Saturday (June 26):

"This incident that happened after the Pride March is not a coincidence! The first place that they attack to scare us is once again the most insecure groups. We leave neither our homes nor our streets. We call on everyone to claim Küçük Bayram Street and the trans women living there."

Küçük Bayram Sokak'ta yaşayan trans kadınlardan aldığımız bilgiye göre, polis ekipleri Bayram Sokak'taki evleri mühürleyerek sokağı kapatmaya çalışıyor. Onur Yürüyüşü sonrası gerçekleşen bu olay tesadüf değil! Evlerimizi de, sokaklarımızı da terk etmiyoruz! pic.twitter.com/t1zdFHGc6x

— İstanbul LGBTİ+ Onur Haftası (@istanbulpride) June 28, 2021

(KÖ/SD)