#benneredeyim Neredeyiz? Her yerdeyiz!

Bu sene #benneredeyim temasıyla gerçekleşen 28. İstanbul LGBTİ+ Onur Haftası’nda farklı alanlarda ve hapishanelerde LGBTİ+ olmayı konuşacağız.

Detaylı bilgi için bkz:

https://www.facebook.com/events/280342916663247/

Saat: 17:00-19:00 // Yer: Zoom Meeting
Söyleşi: Neredeyiz? Her yerdeyiz!

Yalnızca gettolarda değil, şehrin tamamındayız!
Hapiste, sokakta, evde, köyde, dağda, şehirde, bahçede, apartmanda, okulda, işte, gurbette, parkta…
Kimimiz yaşamak için bir yer seçiyoruz, kimimiz savrulduğumuz mekanlarda var olmaya çalışıyoruz.
Bu sene #benneredeyim temasıyla gerçekleşecek 28. İstanbul LGBTİ+ Onur Haftası’nda farklı alanlardaki lubunya deneyimlerini konuşmak için bir araya geliyoruz.

Kırsalda Lubunya Olmak: Erdem (Antakya)
Bahçede/Tarlada Lubunya Olmak: Hatice Amazon (Rize)
Hapiste Lubunya Olmak: Hilal Başak Demirbaş (Ceza İnfaz Sisteminde Sivil Toplum Derneği CİSST)
Gurbette Travesti Olmak: Rüzgar Buşki (Berlin)

Her şeyin ederinden çok daha pahalı olduğu şehirlerde üç beş mahalledeki kafe ve barlardan, her hakkın ederinden çok daha pahalı olduğu hapishanelere…
Kimimiz sınırların dışında, kimimiz içinde….
Yaşama hakkımızın, temiz gıda, su ve hava haklarımızın, gözetildiği,
sınırların olmadığı bir dünya özlemiyle…

Kolaylaştırıcılar: Burak ve Tulya

Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkduCsrj0tE9dlAtZOb0Jczl_ZKclxfSzQ
“Lütfen, linkte yer alan formu zoom hesabınıza bağlı e-posta adresinizle doldurun.”

Time: 17:00-19:00 // Zoom Meeting
Talk: Where are we? We are everywhere!

We are not only in ghettos but around the whole city.
We are in jail, on the street, at home, in the village, on the mountain, in the garden, in the apartment, at school, at work, in the park.

Some of us choose a place to live while some of us try to exist in the spaces we have to be.

This year, we will come together to talk about the experiences of the LGBTI+ community in different spaces at the 28th Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week with the theme of #whereamI.

Being Lubunya in Rural: Erdem (Antakya)
Being Lubunya in the Gardens/Farms: Hatice Amazon (Rize)
Being Lubunya in Jail: Hilal Başak Demirtaş (Civil Society in Penal System Association / CİSST)
Being Lubunya in Abroad/in Absence from Home: Rüzgar Buşki (Berlin)
*The word “lubunya” is how queers often describe themselves in Turkey.

Facilitators: Burak and Tulya

Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkduCsrj0tE9dlAtZOb0Jczl_ZKclxfSzQ
“Please fill the form in the link with your e-mail address linked to your zoom account.”

22.06.2020

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Mısırlı LGBTI+ Aktivist Sarah Hegazy 30 yaşında Hayata Veda Etti

DW’nin haberini sizlerle paylaşıyoruz.

Sarah Hegazy Kahire’de yapılan bir rock konserinde gökkuşağı bayrağı taşıması nedeniyle tutuklanmasının ardından hapishanede işkenceye ve cinsel saldırıya maruz kalmıştı. Hegazy sıklıkla hapishanede yaşadıklarının ruh sağlığı üzerinde derin yaralar açtığını dile getirmişti.

Mısırlı LGBTI+ aktivist Sarah Hegazy hapishanede gördüğü işkence yüzünden gelişen travma sonrası stres bozukluğu nedeniyle 14 Haziran günü yaşamına son verdi. Hegazy ardında şu notu bıraktı:

“Kardeşlerime,

Mücadele etmeye çalıştım fakat başarısız oldum. Beni affedin.

Arkadaşlarıma,
Deneyimlediklerim çok acımasızdı ve ben hepsiyle mücadele etmek için çok zayıftım. Beni affedin.

Dünyaya,
Bana karşı çok gaddardın ama ben seni affediyorum.”

30 yaşındaki aktivistin ani ölümü yalnızca Mısır ya da Ortadoğu’da değil, bütün dünyada LGBTI+ bireyler ve LGBTI+ destekçileri tarafından derin üzüntüyle karşılandı.

Gökkuşağı Bayrağı

Hegazy 2017 yılında, açık kimlikli bir LGBTI+ birey olan Hamed Sinno’nun solisti olduğu Lübnanlı Mashrou’ Leila grubunun konserinde gökkuşağı bayrağı açmasının ardından Mısır’da nefret gruplarının hedefi haline gelmişti.

 

Konserin ardından, Mısırdaki LGBTI+ bireylerin karşılaştığı en şiddetli baskılama hareketi sonucunda 70 kişi ile birlikte tutuklanmıştı. Basın raporlarına göre Hegazy tutuklular içindeki tek kadındı (ya da birkaç kadından biriydi).

 

Hegazy bu durumu şu sözlerle dile getirmişti: “Bir tabur kişi, onlarca silahlı memur, yalnızca bir kadını tutuklamak için görevlendirilmişti”. “Bu olayın bu denli büyük tepkilere yol açacağı hiç aklımıza gelmemişti”.

 

Acımasız, İnsanlık Dışı ve Onur Kırıcı

Mısır’da homoseksüellik yasal bir suç teşkil etmiyor olsa da yetkililer toplumun dayattığı cinsel yönelim ve toplumsal cinsiyet rollerine uygun davranmayan kişileri “kamu ahlakını bozmak” suçu ile yargılıyor.

İnsan Hakları İzleme Örgütü’ne (Human Rights Watch) göre Mısır kolluk kuvvetleri sıklıkla tutuklu kişilerin homoseksüel ilişkiye girip girmediğini anlamak için işkenceye varacak derecede acımasız, insanlık dışı ve onur kırıcı olabilen anal muayene yapmaları gerekçesiyle suçlanıyor.

Hegazy hapishanede diğer mahpuslar tarafından cinsel saldırıya uğradığını ve cinsel yönelimi nedeniyle hapishane görevlilerinin işkencesine maruz kaldığını açıklamıştı.  Bu travmaların ruh sağlığı üzerinde açtığı yaralar ile ilgili sosyal medyada sıklıkla paylaşımda bulunuyordu.

 

LGBTI+ Özneler Tanınmıyor

Uluslararası baskıya rağmen Mısır Hükümeti bireyleri cinsel yönelimleri ve toplumsal cinsiyet kimlikleri dolayısıyla hedef alan hukuki yaptırımlara son vermeyi reddediyor.

İnsan Hakları İzleme Örgütü’nden Rasha Younes geçtiğimiz Mart ayında şu açıklamayı yapmıştı:

“Mısır Hükümeti lezbiyen, gay, biseksüel ve transseksüel bireylerin varlıklarını tanımayı reddediyor; bu durum hükümetin bütün vatandaşlarının haklarını koruma konusundaki sorumluluklarını yerine getirmemesine neden oluyor”.

Hegazy kendi kararı doğrultusunda Mısır’ı terk ederek sürgünde yaşadığı Kanada’nın Toronto şehrinde hayata veda etti. Ölümünden önce mektubunda şu sözleri yazdı:

“Dünyaya,

Bana karşı çok gaddardın ama ben seni affediyorum”.

Haber Kaynağı: https://www.dw.com/en/egyptian-lgbt-activist-sarah-hegazy-jailed-for-waving-rainbow-flag-dies-at-30/a-53831469

Haber Çevirisi:  Cihangir Can

16.06.2020

2

Turkey: a life in isolation

CİSST Hapiste LGBTİ+ Alan Temsilcisi Hilal Başak Demirbaş Prison Insider’a LGBTİ+ mahpusların sorunlarını ve güncel durumlarını anlattı. Röportajı sizlerle paylaşıyoruz:

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) prisoners represent a minority. Their protection is not ensured at all levels and their specific needs are neglected.

The number of LGBTI prisoners in the country is unclear, but a 2018 figure1 showed that they were at least 200. Aggression, isolation, human rights violations: their experience of imprisonment is particularly tough as their specific needs are not met by the penitentiary system. They regularly face attacks and discrimination. For their own safety, many end up in total isolation. In 2013, the government suggested to create a special facility dedicated to LGBTI prisoners. This project of “pink blocks” was deemed counterproductive and highly criticised by activists.

The Civil Society in the Penal System association (CISST) promotes human rights in prison and protects those who are at-risk by running advocacy campaigns, filing petitions, advising and directing to associations/services.

Hilal Basak Demirbas works at the CISST. She regularly exchanges letters with LGBTI prisoners and files complaints to protect their rights. Prison Insider asked her three questions.

  1. Blog by Hilal Basak Demirbas: LGBT Hapiste “There are Around 200 LGBTI People In Prisons”, 2018. ↩

Lesbian, bisexual, trans men and intersex prisoners voluntarily keep their identity hidden in order not to be discriminated.

Prison Insider. Can you explain to us the specific realities of trans prisoners in Turkey?

HBD. Prisons in Turkey are built according to the binary gender structure. As a result, the affectation to one prison or another is determined according to the gender written on the identity card. If a trans woman has not completed the gender transition process, she will not receive her pink identity card, which would acknowledge her as a woman. Without this card, she will be put into men’s prison facilities. In the case that she is the only LGBTI prisoner in the said prison, she will be forced to stay alone. For security reasons, she will not be allowed to attend courses and workshops that might put her and male prisoners in the same place. If there is no specific workshop planned for her, she will not be able to attend any workshop or course during her stay in prison.

This problem of classification and separation leads to some LGBTI+ prisoners being kept in total isolation. In addition, they are also forced to stay in solitary confinement.

In certain prison wards, trans and homosexual prisoners are allowed to stay together. In others, they cannot. Lesbian, bisexual, trans men and intersex prisoners voluntarily keep their identity hidden in order not to be discriminated. They risk losing access to their rights, being kept in separate wards or living in isolation.

Their placement in such a facility would lead them to be forcibly outed, and would put them in danger

PI. There are talks about creating a separate prison facility for LGBTI prisoners. What are the practical implications of this project?

HBD. The discussion started after the Ministry of Justice announced in 2013 that a private prison for LGBTI prisoners would be opened in İzmir. Both prisoners and LGBTI associations expressed strong opposition to this idea, for various reasons:

  • The first priority is to recognise LGBTI individuals in the Turkish law, the criminal justice system, and address the general issues. Only then can the second step be to assess suitable measures for LGBTI prisoners.
  • LGBTI prisoners did not voice the request of a separate prison facility. Some of them are not out about their gender or sexual identities to their families and social surrounding. Their placement in such a facility would lead them to be forcibly outed, and would put them in danger.

We believe the opening of such a prison would institutionalise discrimination by separating and abstracting LGBTI prisoners from other prisoners.

The idea of a separate prison has been discussed and put on the agenda on various occasions since. It however did not go beyond the project stage, due to our comments and criticism. It was not implemented.

We receive frequent requests from foreign prisoners

PI. In which ways does the CISST specifically assist LGBTI prisoners?

HBD. All prisoners, including LGBTI prisoners, can send us letters. They can also contact us through their family, their lawyer or through other associations. LGBTI persons who are held in an open facility are entitled to leave once every three months, so they can come at our office as well.

The work that we do includes filing complaints and contacting different institutions as soon as we are aware of infringements on rights or ill-treatments. We forward petitions from prisoners to the authorities: parliamentarians, the Ministry of Justice, the General Directorate of Penalties and Detention, the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission, and different boards who monitor the prisons.

We also provide assistance and coordination regarding practical needs specific to LGBTI prisoners. Items such as clothing, shoes and make-up are not sold in the canteens, and generally not met by the prison administration. The only way to obtain these items is to have them brought from families or lawyers. But many do not have the necessary contacts outside.

CISST collects and shares information about specific needs that are not met and puts the prisoners in contact with the associations that can provide such packages.

If necessary, we conduct legal work to make sure that parcels are not blocked. Our work includes drafting reports on the shortcomings and addressing our publications to prison administrations and to prisoners. We document the infringements on rights and put forward policy recommendations.

Our expertise on LGBTI prisoners’ rights is well known, and we receive frequent requests from foreign prisoners. For instance, CISST has been corresponding with a Brazilian trans prisoner for a long time. Despite being entitled for placement in an open prison, she could not, as a trans woman, be held in such a facility with male prisoners. She was therefore imprisoned in a closed facility and had a temporary leave every three months. She would use the occasion to come and visit us, and we assisted her with administrative complaints about her detainment conditions. She was recently released and is housed in the removal centre while waiting to go to back to Brazil. When she went through financial difficulties, we assisted her in obtaining support from the Brazilian consulate. Another trans prisoner serving an aggravated life-sentence decided to marry a man who was kept in the cell next to his. Because she did not have a friend or any close person in her life, the couple asked CISST to be a witness to their marriage. So there are also requests such as these that come to us!

cisst_logo.jpg

The Civil Society in the Penal System Association

NGO

The CISST is based in Istanbul. It aims at mobilising civil society to bring Turkey’s prisons in line with international standards, and to help Turkey’s penal system to become transparent and better connected to civil society. The organisation adresses the rights of specific populations in prison (women, children, students, foreigners, LGBTI), health in prison and long-term sentences. The CISST established a research center called Turkey’s Center for Prison Studies (TCPS) whose aims is to strengthen ties between civil society and the academics.

https://www.prison-insider.com/en/articles/turquie-pour-les-prisonniers-lgbti-une-vie-a-l-isolement

05.05.2020

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