Sixteen people detained in İzmir during countrywide raids targeting the LGBTI+ community were formally arrested yesterday on charges related to "obscenity" and "prostitution."
A lawyer representing those arrested claimed that police obtained their phone passwords without a court order and searched their phones.
Messages and photos found in the phones were added to the investigation file as evidence for "obscenity," lawyer Ahmet Rodi Polat, who also co-chairs the İzmir branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD), told the T24 news site.
'This operation declares that the Turkish state considers LGBTI+s criminals for simply existing'
Polat further said the investigation was initially based on social media monitoring conducted through the "online patrols," which the Constitutional Court had previously found unlawful. Under the method, police examine individuals’ social media activity without a judicial order.
'LGBTI+s are being criminalized'
The lawyer said the investigation criminalizes LGBTI+s because of their gender identity:
"In the cases we are following in İzmir, we see posts concerning people's private lives were taken out of context in an attempt to use them as grounds for obscenity and prostitution charges.
"Yet the consensual private lives of adults, their sexual orientation, gender identity and visibility on social media are not crimes. Vaguely defined concepts such as ‘public morality’ cannot be turned into tools for eliminating the right to privacy and freedom of expression.
"Combining unrelated accusations in the same investigations leads to LGBTI+s being associated with crime and stigmatized in the eyes of society. The state’s obligation is not to criminalize LGBTI+s, but to protect them from discrimination, hate speech and violence."
Turkey's LGBTI+ crackdown draws condemnation from rights groups, politicians
Background
The İzmir detentions were part of sweeping raids conducted in 15 cities on Sep 13. Authorities searched the offices of LGBTI+ rights organizations as well as venues such as bars frequented by the queer community.
Detention orders were issued for 162 people, most of whom were taken into custody. Those targeted face allegations involving obscenity, prostitution and drug-related offenses.
The obscenity allegation at the center of the investigation also covers material including statements that do not contain explicit content. (VK)
