In the latest in a series of legal attacks on LGBT organizations and publications in Turkey, on May 29 a court in Istanbul, the nation's largest city, ordered the dissolution of Lambda Istanbul. Founded in 1993, the group is Turkey's oldest LGBT organization, and has organized Gay Pride marches in that city every year since 2003.The organization has been under attack from Istanbul's governor, Muammer
Güler (right), since 2007, when his office brought a legal action to close the organization, claiming that Lambda violates both the Penal Code, as an association in violation of "law and morals," and Article 41 of the Turkish Constitution, which is concerned with "the peace and welfare of the family."Güler was appointed in 2003 by the country's ruling party, the Islamist AKP (Justice and Development), which has governed the nation since 2001. The court ban on Lambda Istanbul was preceded by six hearings on the case over the last year and a half.
Lambda Istanbul lesbian activist Sedef Cakmak told Gay City News by telephone, "We will appeal the court ban to Turkey's Supreme Court [Yargitay], and our lawyers tell us they think we will win on appeal. Unfortunately, the court system in Turkey is very slow, and our lawyers say a decision on our appeal may take one to two years. They have not even been given as yet a copy of the full verdict by the local court."
She continued, "But if our appeal goes against us, we will then take the case to the European Court of Human Rights." Cakmak told this reporter that Lambda Istanbul has called a protest demonstration against the ban for Saturday, June 7.
The group, she explained, is a non-hierarchical organization with no officers and about 150 official members, "but our real support is much larger than that, because most LGBT people in Turkey are afraid to come out in public and don't want to put their names on our membership rolls. People can be beaten or thrown out of the house by their own families for being gay and ostracized by their friends and communities. Homophobia exists in every part of society, and we are attacked as a disease and a perversion. But despite this, we have 50 active volunteers who work with us, many of whom are not officially members, which is pretty good!"
A lawyer for Lambda Istanbul was told by prosecutors that it has been under renewed surveillance since March of this year, and on April 7, Istanbul police raided Lambda Istanbul's Cultural Center, seizing the group's membership list and other documents. The warrant for the raid cited suspicions that Lambda "facilitates prostitution, acts as a go-between [and] provides a place for [prostitution]."
The police accused us of pimping for transgendered sex workers and of being a center of prostitution," Cakmak said, "but of course they found nothing to confirm these ridiculous and false charges. Our membership list and other documents were eventually returned to us, and up until now none of our members has been bothered by the police because their names were on that list." (For more on the raid on Lambda Istanbul, see this reporter's April 24-30 article, "At World's Crossroads, Backlash," a hyperlink to which can be found on the online version of this story at gaycitynews.com).
Another Lambda Istanbul activist, Öner Ceylan, told me, "Lambda is a 15-year-old organization, so no way we're giving up the fight or closing down, and our Gay Pride march will continue this year as scheduled on June 29. It will be bigger than ever, with some members of the Turkish and European Parliaments joining us and many LGBTs and friends from all over Turkey."
The march will cap a weeklong festival of activities and events that begins June 23 and includes film screenings, parties, concerts, forums, and workshops.
