Source: Ömer Akpınar, “Roşin Çiçek davasında SPoD’un müdahilliğine gerekçesiz ret!,” (“SPoD’s status as joint plaintiff in the case of Roşin Çiçek removed without reason!,”) Kaos GL, 05 December 2013,  http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=15332

In the 8th hearing of the Roşin Çiçek case who was murdered because of his sexual orientation in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, justice was not granted once again. The new court board removed SPoD’s (the Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association) status as a joint plaintiff and the next hearing was postponed until February 10. The arrest warrant for the accused two uncles and the father is still in place.

“Interlocutory decision cannot be annulled without reason”

 SPoD’s request to be recognized as a joint plaintiff was accepted in the 3rd hearing, however, they will no longer be able to participate in the following hearings. The family’s objection to the LGBTI association’s involvement in the trial was rejected in the previous hearings but the new court board repealed SPoD’s status as joint plaintiff.

Kaos GL Association’s lawyer Hayriye Kaya stated that the decision was not made based on any new information and added, “When there is no change in the situation, the decision of the previous panel of judges cannot be annulled without reason.”

Kara also said, “A different panel of judges interpret ‘being affected by crime’ and ‘participation in the proceedings’ in their own way.” She stated that LGBTIs (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex) are deprived of justice.

Maltreatment of LGBTI activists

While the relatives of the accused did not pass through a security check when entering the courtroom, LGBTI activists following the case were searched. Policewomen doing the body search did not want to search a trans woman with a blue identification card. Turkey uses a blue and pink identification card system for men and women, respectively.