reports in GENDER category

"I know this won’t be the first or the last price I pay for this struggle. Like the others, I bear this price as a badge of honor," said Selin Berghan.

Twenty years ago, the Kaos GL magazine was seized on the grounds of “obscenity” and “public morality.” Ten years ago, the ECtHR ruled that Turkey had violated Kaos GL’s freedom of expression. Today, those same concepts are at the center of an investigation in which the association's leaders have been arrested.

The obscenity law historically applied to pornographic content. Recently, judicial authorities have accused almost anything related to the LGBTI+ community of being obscene, ranging from verbal statements and photos to song lyrics.

The ministry ordered prosecutors to take action against “activities encouraging children and young people toward desexualization.”

During detention procedures, police attempted to remove detainees' allegations of torture from their statements, a lawyer said.

Two reporters were among the detained as a crowd protested the Sep 13 anti-LGBTI+ raids.

Police allegedly obtained the detained individuals' phone passwords without a court order and then added messages and photos in the phones to the investigation file as evidence.

Journalist and LGBTI+ activist Yıldız Tar reflected on the recent crackdown on the queer community.

"No one's family is under threat; we are the ones under threat."

Police raided LGBTI+ associations' offices and gay bars in İstanbul and Ankara. Access to numerous websites and social media accounts has been blocked.

The ministry has been restricting access to hormone therapy through directives and de facto practices.

Tokyaz's body was found by a roadside last year. Five other defendants received sentences for offenses related to evidence spoliation.