“Homosexuality is not a crime, no one can be accused of being homosexual”

Source: “Homosexuality is not a crime, no one can be accused of being homosexual” (Aslı Alpar, “Eşcinsellik suç değil, kişi eşcinsellikle suçlanamaz”) KaosGL, 30 January 2019 http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=27480

Why has the newspaper Hürriyet published an article including discriminatory language? An article entitled “Breaking news regarding the decision in the case of the garbage truck driver who has been accused of having a homosexual relationship” is misleading and sensational.

Today, the newspaper Hürriyet has published a news item under the headline “Breaking News Regarding The Decision In The Case Of the Garbage Truck Driver Who Has Been Accused of Having A Homosexual Relationship”.

This news piece, signed by Dinçer Gökçe, announces the result of the reemployment lawsuit that the garbage truck driver R.S. filed against the Kağıthane Municipality because the Municipality fired him without paying any severance pay due to a “homosexual relationship”, which was also reported by the newspaper Hürriyet in July.

The news announces that the 34th Labour Court of İstanbul  enforced the re-employment of R.S. whom Kağıthane Municipality fired without paying any severance pay due to a “homosexual relationship”. The news was presented with a blurred picture of a garbage truck and two men standing side by side. The news does not mention that the workers the legal right-to-work was violated or that it cannot be a concern for Kağıthane Municipality if they were accused of having “homosexual relationship” out of working hours.

The newspaper first published the news relating to Kağıthane Municipality’s violation to the right of privacy and the right to work of the labourers, with the headline “the homosexual relationship of the garbage truck drivers caused trouble in the Municipality”

Lawyer Kerem Dikmen: “Since homosexuality is not a crime, no one can be accused of homosexuality”

Kaos GL Association Legal Coordinator Lawyer Kerem Dikmen assessed the Hürriyet news story for KaosGL.org. Lawyer Dikmen notes that the statement as “accused of homosexuality” which is stated at the headline of the news is wrong:

“Crime is a definition used for actions for which the Criminal Code requires enforcement. Therefore, there cannot be a case where a person is accused of homosexuality, because homosexuality which is a sexual orientation is not a crime. Of course, Hürriyet reporters know it is not a crime; however, you can clearly see the homophobic attitude here.

“Scandal” is a violation to the right of privacy and the right to work!

Is the decision really “breaking news”?

Lawyer Dikmen interprets the statement of “Breaking News Regarding The Decision” as:

“When ‘breaking news regarding the decision’ is stated, you think of a situation which is not expected, should not be expected after the court’s judgment and for this reason is shocking. If a person is fired because of his/her sexual orientation, the breaking news is the decision on not being re-employed; it is not the decision on being re-employed. The fact that a homosexual person works in a workplace and a judicial intervention prevents him/her being fired while working are clearly being pushed out of the realm of the ordinary here and it is implied that the ordinary situation is that a homosexual person does not work in a workplace or the court does not decide on reemployment after s/he is fired. Moreover, the statement as ‘a claim of homosexual relationship of 4 people’ develops the perception of homosexuality as a crime.”

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