Source: Yıldız Tar, “Translara Silahlı Saldırı ve Polis Tacizi!” (“Armed Assault Against Trans Women Followed by Harassment”) KaosGL.org, 16 July 2014, http://www.kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=17106
3 trans women were attacked in Harbiye which was followed by police harassment. Wounded women were kept waiting in the hospital for a long time, delaying treatment.
An addition to the list of violent attacks against trans women was made yesterday. In Harbiye, where violence against LGBTI society is on the increase, three trans women were assaulted with a deadly weapon.
“They unloaded a whole magazine!”
In the assault that took place on the midnight of July 9th, a trans woman named İlknur was wounded in the head. The bullets scratched her friend’s waist. İlknur recalled the events to KaosGL.org:
“I was chatting with my trans friends by the road around 1 am. We were not working at that time. It was too crowded anyway. A black Doblo drove by quite fast and we heard gunshots unexpectedly. He unloaded a whole magazine of bullets at us. We ran towards the side and I felt a sharp pain above my eye. I asked my friend ‘I think, a stone hit my head. Can you take a look?’ My friend panicked and told me, ‘do not move, there is something metal on your head.’
“I was made to wait for one hour with a bullet lodged in my head”
The trans women went to Şişli Etfal Hospital immediately after the assault. Their treatment was deliberately delayed by the hospital staff.
“We went to the hospital. My blood pressure fell and I felt numb on the left side of my body. They made us wait when they had to provide medical attention immediately. They put us on the yellow zone. We told them that this was a serious situation but the nurse snaps at us. After a tomography screening one hour later, we were made to wait for another hour. They put us in a plain room. Finally a doctor came, put the bullet out with a scalpel, stitched me up and sent us back. They had to monitor me for a while for cerebral haemorrhaging.”
Polis harassed the wounded trans individual: “Do you get aroused?”
The discrimination that started in the hospital continued in the police station.
İlknur protested the uninterested attitude of the police and also reported that the camera records were not provided. A plain clothes policeman who went on discovery with İlknur, was more interested in harassing her than finding the assailants:
“I went to the station. I said ‘I would like to file a complaint. I was fired upon.’ Then I went downstairs. They said plainclothes policemen were going to take us to the crime scene so we got into the car with them. We were on the Abide-i Hürriyet Caddesi and a plainclothes officer started speaking profanely. Talking about dicks and ass. Asking bizarre questions like, ‘do you get aroused? How do you like it? Do you enjoy it?’ So I put him down.”
No Camera Records were Available!
“They distracted us for a long time in the crime scene. They told us no camera footage were available but we there were a lot of cameras in the area. It is a huge street, how can they not have any camera footage. So I was angry. I told the officer that I was going to complain about him when I get back to the station. If I had killed someone, they would locate me right away. They did not lift a finger because I was trans.”
İlknur and her SPoD LGBT lawyer Rozerin Seda Kip are now trying to obtain the footage themselves from security cameras located in the near by buildings and shops. İlknur said she would continue to follow her case.
Previous attacks along with chants of “Allahüekber”
“I am determined to see this case through. We were constantly attacked. They threw bottles and stones but I never went through one like this. I know how to protect myself against bottles or stones but how am I supposed to defend myself against a handgun. Mentally, I do not feel well. Other queer friends of ours were attacked while shouting “Allahüekber.”
Her attorney Kip says that the police and hospital staff failed to perform their duties. “The crime took place in Abide-i Hürriyet Caddesi, which is a very busy street. There is absolutely no way that they cannot find a single security camera footage. There is a separate case for discrimination in the hospital. How do you send home a patient with a head injury without any further monitoring? While trying to deal with the attackers, we cannot emphasize the negligence displayed by the authorities and the administrative personnel. They simply do not carry out their duties.”