>> Turkey transgender activist’s death highlights rise in hate crimes
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Le corps mutilé et calciné de Hande Kader, devenue le symbole en Turquie du mouvement LGBTI, a été découvert le 8 août dernier sur le bas-côté d’une route dans un quartier résidentiel de la banlieue d’Istanbul. La dépouille de la jeune femme transgenre a été identifiée par son compagnon et ses amis, mais des tests ADN sont toujours en cours, a indiqué à France 24 Emirhan Deniz Çelebi, porte-parole de SPoD, une ONG qui œuvre pour les droits humains. La nouvelle de sa disparition a provoqué l’indignation et la colère de toute la communauté, qui réclame justice et dénonce le silence des médias officiels.
Une campagne a également été lancée sur les réseaux avec notamment le hashtag #HandeKadereSesVer et une marche est prévue en hommage ce dimanche 21 août à Istanbul.
1993 personnes transgenres ont été assassinées en Turquie ces huit dernières années.
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Trans cinayetleri politiktir!#HandeKader için 21 Ağustos Pazar günü 19.00’da Taksim-Tünel’de #HandeKadereSesVer pic.twitter.com/CQAUtAejZX
— Mimar Sinan Postası (@msgsubaykus) 18 août 2016
Her name was #HandeKader A relentless #LGBT activist for equality & @istanbulpride She was murdered in a #hatecrime pic.twitter.com/WE1eNwdZem
— Elif Şafak / Shafak (@Elif_Safak) 15 août 2016
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Âgée de 22 ans, Hande était devenue un symbole en s’interposant courageusement en juin 2015 entre la police turque et des participants à la marche des fiertés d’Istanbul, qui scandaient des slogans pour dénoncer « le fascisme » du régime du président islamo-conservateur Recep Tayyip Erdogan. L’événement avait été interdit à la dernière minute et violemment réprimé par les autorités.
Cette année encore, la parade a été annulée pour « préserver la sécurité et l’ordre public ». Elle avait pourtant eu lieu à douze reprises sans incident chaque dernier dimanche de juin.
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Il y a quelques jours déjà, le corps de Muhammed Wisam Sankari, un réfugié syrien homosexuel, avait été retrouvé décapité et horriblement mutilé, dans le centre d’Istanbul. Ses amis n’ont pu l’identifier que grâce au pantalon qu’il portait. Le jeune homme souhaitait quitter la métropole turque où il ne se sentait pas en sécurité après avoir été menacé.
Anne V. Besnard
stophomophobie.org
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>> Turkey’s Daily Sabah reported that the badly burnt and mutilated body of Hande Kader, a 22-year-old LGBT activist and sex worker, was found on August 8 by the roadside in a residential area of Istanbul.
Although DNA evidence has yet to confirm the remains belong to Kader, the director of a gay rights group said her boyfriend and some friends had positively identified the body.
Emirhan Deniz Çelebi, the director of SPoD, a national LGBT organisation based in Istanbul, joined other LGBT associations in condemning what they believe is deliberate silence by the country’s mainstream media in the wake of the activist’s death.
« We are not equal, » he said.
After Kader was arrested during an equal rights rally and faced down police water cannons during last year’s Gay Pride parade, she became a symbolic figure in the LGBT community.
« We are being murdered and they do not hear our voices, because the rules in Turkey don’t protect us », said Deniz Çelebi.
Outraged supporters launched a social media campaign to raise awareness of Kader’s death and the plight of the LGBT community in Turkey. On Twitter they shared the hashtag #HandeKaderSesVer (MakeSomeNoiseForHandeKader), while on Change.org a petition was circulated to advocate for better protections for those in the community.
Last Thursday local activists took their cause to the capital, holding a press conference outside the parliament to highlight the daily risks confronting LGBT members.
Kader’s murder comes less than two weeks after the beheading of a gay Syrian refugee whose body was found not far from where Kader was discovered.
Muhammed Wisam Sankari, who had fled war-torn Syria, was found decapitated after being raped and assaulted. He could only be identified by the clothes he was wearing.
Minorities targeted
After last month’s failed coup in which the government instituted a state of emergency, the rights of minorities including gays, women and LGBT members have been whittled away.
While the Turkish capital has been a safe haven for many fleeing persecution and war in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, hate crimes against LGBT people have increased.
« Since the coup-attempt, a number of my transgender friends have called me and talked about how they were discriminated against because of their ID Cards and appearance, » Deniz Çelebi said.
Turkish lawyer and LGBT rights advocate Levent Pişkin said Erdogan’s rampant purges have exacerbated the fears of minorities.
« Actually, LGBT people in Turkey have never had legal rights, » said Pişkin.
« But we knew there were judicial mechanisms to support us. Nowadays, most people feel more vulnerable. »
Shift away from secularism
Although homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey as it is in many other Muslim countries, homophobia remains widespread. Almost 80 percent of Turks believe homosexuality is “morally unacceptable” according to a 2013 study by the US think tank PEW Research Center.
Pişkin said Kader’s death is symptomatic of a country shifting away from secularism.
« An Islamic tendency has gradually been getting stronger, » said Pişkin.
« The government has preferred war over strengthening our democracy. Therefore, our democratic rights and one’s right to life hang by a thread. »
LGBT activists will stage a demonstration on Sunday in Istanbul’s İstiklal Avenue to raise further awareness about Kader’s death.
