LGBTI Ban in Ankara Heard in Administrative Court

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First hearing of the lawsuit, which has been brought by Pink Life Association concerning the Ankara Governorship’s decision to ban all LGBTI events, was held yesterday.

According to Yıldız Tar from Kaos GL, lawyer Emrah Şahin on behalf of Pink Life, and lawyers Hayriye Kara and Kerem Dikmen from Kaos GL Association attended the hearing, which was held at Ankara 13th Administrative Court. Lawyers said that the decision of ban is discriminatory and violation of freedom of expression and freedom to establish an association.

What happened?

Ankara Governorship banned the events to be held by “LGBTI NGOs” indefinitely on the pretext of “public morality” and “social sensitivity and sensibilities” on November 19.

The Governorship banned German LGBTI Film Days on November following some tweets posted with the hashtags #LGBTFilmGünleriİptalEdilsin (#MayLGBTFilmDaysBeCancelled) and #İstiklalimizeKaraLeke (#BlackMarkOnOurFreedom).

The 11th leg of the Gender-Based Journalism Workshop carried out by the International Press Service (IPS) Communication Foundation with the support of Kaos GL, was cancelled as well as it was targeted by the media. The workshop was planned to be held on November 18, in Turkey's southeastern province of Mardin. (ÇT/TK)