Source: “Eşcinsel düğünün ardından ölüm tehdidi yağdı,” (“Death threats after gay wedding”), Radikal, 13 October 2014, http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/escinsel_dugunun_ardindan_olum_tehdidi_yagdi-1218459

Following Turkey’s first gay wedding, the couple lost their home and their jobs and began receiving death threats. There are women among those who have been threatening the couple.

Turkey’s first gay “wedding” turned the couple’s lives into a nightmare. University students[1] Ekin Keser and Emrullah Tüzün recently got married in Istanbul through an unofficial wedding ceremony. Hürriyet’s Fırat Alkaç reports that the couple’s lives became entirely distraught following the ceremony.

Tüzün (28) said, “My family and my siblings are threatening to kill me. People around us began to express negative reactions as soon as our wedding was publicized. Our landlord kicked us out of our apartment. I used to work as a waiter in Kadıköy and I got laid off. Ekin is a university student so he is not working. We have no income and are experiencing hardship.”

Women threaten too

Twenty one year old Ekin Keser is unable to step foot at his university because of ongoing threats. Keser stated that he is receiving death threats on social media and added the following: “I am originally from Antakya. People have been threatening me for denigrating Antakya. My family already knew I was gay but they did not receive the news of my getting married well at all. Emrullah and I have been friends for three years. We were already living together. We got married as a step towards breaking taboos. We saw that those homophobic people who threaten us are after all a minority. Some of them are women… Ninety five percent of the people around us congratulated us. They were supportive. Now, all we want is for our families and our immediate circles to give us a break.”

 

[1] The news story later mentions that Ekin Keser is a university student and that Emrullah Tüzün is not. However, at this point both were referred to as students. The translation sticks to the original news content.