Amnesty International: The prosecution of Amnesty International Türkiye’s former Chair Kerem Dikmen and ten other members of the executive and supervisory boards of Genç LGBTI+ (Young LGBTI+) Association, is part of an orchestrated strategy of harassment of LGBTI+ organizations and their supporters, Amnesty International said ahead of a hearing which starts tomorrow.  

In December, a court ruled to dissolve the Izmir-based Genç LGBTI+ Association on the grounds of ‘obscenity’ for five illustrations posted on their social media accounts between 2019 and 2022, based on an audit report in 2024. In October 2025, a related criminal prosecution was launched against eleven people in the leadership position of the association for violating the Law on Associations. If found guilty, they could face a jail sentence of up to three years. 

“It is shocking that this baseless case has been brought against these human rights defenders in the first place. Despite an initial finding by İzmir’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office Cybercrime Bureau in August 2025 that the social media posts were not obscene, the authorities have first closed a vibrant LGBTI+ rights organization and they are now threatening the liberty of its board,” said Esther Major, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Research in Europe.

Read the full article on Türkiye: Absurd charges against board of LGBTI+ organization must be dropped 

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