Turkish court bans LGBTI youth organisation

A court in Turkey has ordered the closure of the LGBTI youth organisation Genç LGBTİ Plus Derneği. According to the court, the organisation distributed images that could encourage young people to become lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans, and that allegedly violate public morality and the Turkish Constitution. ILGA Europe has expressed concern about the closure and sees it as an escalation of the repression faced by LGBTI organisations in Turkey.

The five illustrations, created by LGBTI artists during online Pride activities, were shared by the youth organisation on its social media channels. During an extensive audit carried out across several LGBTI organisations, these images were found on the social media accounts of Genç LGBTİ.

ILGA Europe questions the court ruling and at the same time raises the alarm about the clear escalation of ongoing repressive tactics. The organisation notes that in recent years Turkey has seen a continuous deterioration in respect for freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. LGBTI people and organisations are disproportionately affected. This includes repeated bans on Pride events, mass arrests of LGBTI activists and journalists, the targeting of artistic and journalistic expression, and regulatory and administrative measures that expose LGBTI people to increased risks. In addition, LGBTI organisations are increasingly subjected to far reaching government audits.

These audits, officially presented as routine oversight, go in practice far beyond the usual accountability requirements for civil society organisations. Excessive documentation is demanded, lawful expression and visibility are scrutinised, and organisations are placed under constant surveillance. This unequal treatment creates a climate in which LGBTI organisations are treated as inherently suspect, which runs counter to the principle of equality before the law.

“The closure of Genç LGBTI cannot therefore be seen as an isolated judicial decision”, ILGA Europe stated. “It represents a clear escalation within an already established pattern of repression. The combination of discriminatory audits, broad interpretations of obscenity provisions and administrative pressure shows how existing laws are being used to achieve effects similar to so called anti propaganda legislation, even without the adoption of new laws. This approach sends a chilling message to all LGBTI organisations in Turkey. Compliance with existing regulations offers no protection, and past lawful activities can be retrospectively criminalised. If left unchallenged, the dismantling of civil society organisations through administrative and judicial means risks becoming normalised, further shrinking civic space and undermining democratic safeguards.”

ILGA Europe calls on the Turkish government to immediately end discriminatory audits of LGBTI organisations, to stop using morality and obscenity laws to suppress LGBTI expression and association, to ensure fair and independent appeal proceedings in the Genç LGBTI case, and to guarantee equal and non discriminatory treatment of all civil society organisations. At the same time, ILGA Europe also urges European institutions, international partners, civil society organisations and human rights defenders to explicitly address the discriminatory use of audits in dialogue with Turkey, to treat the closure of Genç LGBTI as a structural rule of law and freedom of association issue, and to ensure that relations between the European Union and Turkey include clear human rights conditions protecting civil society from discriminatory administrative practices.