This was taken from Human Rights Watch and you can read more on this story here.

Turkey: Homophobic Violence Points to Rights Crisis

EU Should Insist on Reforms to Counter Persisting Inequality and Abuses

(Istanbul, May 22, 200 – Turkey should urgently change law and policy to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people from extensive harassment and brutality on the streets, in homes, and in state-run institutions, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Human Rights Watch also called on the European Union to make Turkey’s membership aspirations contingent on ending endemic abuses and guaranteeing equal rights and protection for LGBT people.

The 123-page report, “‘We Need a Law for Liberation’: Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights in a Changing Turkey,” documents a long and continuing history of violence and abuse based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Human Rights Watch conducted more than 70 interviews over a three-year period, documenting how gay men and transgender people face beatings, robberies, police harassment, and the threat of murder. The interviews also exposed the physical and psychological violence lesbian and bisexual women and girls confront within their families. Human Rights Watch found that, in most cases, the response by the authorities is inadequate if not nonexistent.

“Democracy means defending all people’s basic rights against the dictatorship of custom and the tyranny of hate,” said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. “Where lives are at stake, Turkey needs to take concrete action and pass comprehensive legislation to protect them.”

In recent years, Turkish authorities have repeatedly harassed human rights defenders and civil society groups working on issues of gender and sexuality. Most recently, on April 7, 2008, police raided the offices of Lambda Istanbul, a nongovernmental organization that has advocated for LGBT people’s rights for over 10 years. The police justified the incursion by claiming the organization “encourages” and “facilitates” prostitution. The Istanbul Governor’s Office has also filed a lawsuit trying to close down Lambda, arguing its name and objectives are “against the law and morality.” Lambda will once again have to defend its right to exist before the Beyoðlu 3rd Civil Court of First Instance on May 29, 2008.