LGBTI Statement on the Case of Roşin Çiçek

To the Press and the Public,

In July 2012, 17 year old Roşin Çiçek was hatefully murdered by his father and uncles for being gay and his young body dumped to the side of the road. Roşin Çiçek is one of the countless LGBTI individuals killed for not conforming to the profile desired by the heteronormative culture.

During the hearings, the attitudes of the defendants’ relatives towards the press and LGBTI activists are extremely aggressive; they have assaulted and insulted our LGBTI activist friends. R.Ç.’s mother requested that members of the press be removed from the court, however, the police did not allow it. Then the mother screamed at the members of the press and said, “If he [R.Ç.] were gay, I would have killed him with my own hands. You have shamed us.” The suspects have made contradictory statements throughout the case and have claimed not to have committed the murder. However, in the last hearings, the father confessed to the murder and claimed that his brothers had nothing to do with it. This is a slap in the face. The father’s admission is conflicting. This murder was not committed by just one person. It is clear that the other defendants are also involved.

SPoD’s request to join Roşin’s murder case as a joint plaintiff was accepted before the tribunal was changed. On 5 December 2012, the hearing was postponed from 10:00 to 13:00 because of the defendants’ relatives assailing behavior. SPoD lawyer Fırat Söyle’s status as joint plaintiff was removed after R.Ç.’s mother submitted a petition to the court.

The new tribunal annulled SPoD’s status as joint plaintiff. We ask: why did the tribunal change?

In the records, the new tribunal used the expression, “premeditated murder of a close relative and use of an unregistered firearm” but did not include the expression “a murder committed with motives of hate against sexual orientation and gender identity.” We are worried that these statements will mean Roşin’s murder to not be considered as a hate crime. We ask: why is it not articulated that Roşin fell victim to a hate crime? 

The reason is clear: the ignore hate-motivated killings and hate crimes against LGBTI people and to acquit the killers. This discrimination has infiltrated every part of this patriarchal state. The Democracy Package submitted today to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey does not include the expressions “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in the description of hate crimes. We, LGBTI people, will continue our struggle against the homophobic-transphobic state and culture until this mentality collapses to create a world rid of hate where people like Roşin Çiçek live, where they can breathe freely, and where families do not kill their children. We will hold the killers accountable!

We will crush the homophobic state!

We will crush the transphobic state!

Signatories:

Hêvi LGBT Initiative

Istanbul LGBTT Solidarity Association

Lambdaistanbul LGBTT Solidarity Association

Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPoD)

People’s Democratic Congress LGBTI Commission

People’s Democratic Congress Youth Assembly

Trans Solidarity Network

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