Court Case on Hate Speech Against LGBTI+’s Held Today
(Nicosia, 17.05.2024) The hate speech case against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and plus (LGBTI+), which was followed by Queer Cyprus and the Human Rights Platform, was held today at the Nicosia District Court before Judge Jale Dizdarlı Ergüden.
The statements of Himmet Turgut, President of the Cyprus Turkish Educators’ Union (KIBTES), containing hate speech against LGBTI+’s published in 2021 were evaluated today at the Nicosia District Court. The lawyer defending Himmet Turgut claimed that her client made these statements within the scope of freedom of expression and that family is a very important right above all else. She also argued that her client did not use the term ‘pervert’ as claimed. In response to all these defences, Judge Jale Dizdarlı Ergüden reminded that hate speech is a crime defined in the Penal Code and that the expressions such as ‘poisoning young minds’, ‘rotting our generations’, ‘bringing all kinds of diseases’ in Himmet Turgut’s statements towards LGBTI+s may be considered as Hate Speech. In addition, Judge Jale Dizdarlı Ergüden emphasised that the family institution does not only consist of a man and a woman and that the concept of family can be interpreted broadly in our changing world, and set 20 June as the date for the next meeting of the case.
As Queer Cyprus and Human Rights Platform, we would like to remind once again that hate speech against LGBT+s is a crime and we will follow this process in order to reduce these crimes and to find and punish the criminals. We would also like to remind that Himmet Turgut’s statement to Yeni Akit Newspaper on 24 May 2021 included the statement that ‘these perverts must be stopped urgently’ towards the LGBTI+s, and we state that the right to freedom of expression cannot be used to cover up the crime of hate speech against LGBTI+s.
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