Posted on Advocate.com June 22, 2011 04:25:00 PM ET
Amnesty International to Turkey: Protect LGBT Rights
Amnesty International has issued a report urging Turkey's new government to take a strong stand against the persecution of LGBT people.
By Trudy Ring
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/06/22/Amnesty_International_to_Turkey_Protect_LGBT_Rights/ (http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/06/22/Amnesty_International_to_Turkey_Protect_LGBT_Rights/)
Human rights organization Amnesty International has called on Turkey to adopt laws protecting LGBT people against discrimination and violence, which according to Amnesty are widespread in the nation.
Amnesty made the call in a report issued Tuesday, titled "'Not an Illness nor a Crime': Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People in Turkey Demand Equality." The report highlights the abuses of LGBT people in the country, such as a gay man being shot to death in what many believe to be an "honor killing" arranged by his family to save face; violence against transgender people, who often find that sex work is the only employment available to them and then face danger from their clients and hostility from police; and harassment of gays in military service, which is compulsory for Turkish men. Many crimes against LGBT people receive insufficient investigation by law enforcement, and government authorities frequently seek to prevent gay organizations from meeting.