Source: Gülcan Demirci, “Eşcinsel kocaya tazminat cezası,” (“Legal Action for Compensation against Gay Husband,”) 26 January 2014, http://www.sabah.com.tr/Yasam/2014/01/26/escinsel-kocaya-tazminat-cezasi
A woman, who found out that her husband is gay, opened a law suit to annul their marriage. The court decided that the married couple could divorce with 70,000 TL of compensation awarded to the wife.
In Istanbul, G.D., a teacher, found out after one year of marriage that her husband, F.D., who works as a chief executive of a private corporation, was gay. She filed a claim for the annulment of the marriage, stating “Marriage with a gay man is not feasible.” The court decided that an “annulment of marriage after six months is not possible. Due to the couple being married more than a year, a divorce lawsuit should be opened.” The judge who divorced the married couple also ordered an award of 70,000 TL of compensation to be paid by the husband.
TO PROTECT HIS STATUS
The couple married out of love five years ago. After the first two years, G.D. started secretly investigating her husband based on her suspicions of infidelity and found text messages in her husband’s mobile sent by some gay men. G.D became emotionally exhausted and shared that with her husband. According to her, F.D confessed that liked men. Thereupon, G.D. opened a law suit for annulment of their marriage in 2012 with claiming “My husband is gay. He has had sexual relationships with other men.” G.D., who filed a divorce case through her lawyer at the Istanbul Anatolian Court, stated, “In the second year of our marriage our married life became unbearable due to my husband’s life style and his sexual preferences. I lost my trust in him. We couldn’t even lie in the same bed. I have found out that before and after our marriage my husband has cheated on me and has many transvestite friends. When I confronted him, he admitted that. More than that, he suggested that I accept this situation as his “life and sexual preferences. He made this marriage to cover his homosexual relationships. He told me that he married me to protect his social status and conceal his lifestyle and sexual preferences. When I told him I wanted to get a divorce, he also used violence against me.”
HE SUED FOR 800 THOUSAND TL.
G.D. sued her husband for 500,000 TL of temporary alimony and 400,000 TL for moral indemnity. F.D. denied her accusations and stated in the court that “My wife is cheating on me” and sued her for 800,000 of compensation. After investigating the complaint, the court decided that “The husband is gay. He is an inadequate husband” and divorced the married couple. The judge also ordered compensation of 70,000 TL to be paid by the husband to G.D.
“THE HUSBAND IS OUTRAGEOUSLY INADEQUATE”
In the court’s decision it stated “The conflicts between husband and wife came about once the husband’s sexual preferences before and after marriage came to light. The husband has ill-suited beliefs both against the marriage act and the sacred nature of human beings. Under these circumstances, the husband is outrageously inadequate and has caused a lack of harmony and has therefore destroyed the alliance.