Turkey: Court Shows Bias, Dissolves Lambda Istanbul

On May 29, 2008, the Third Civil Court of First Instance in the Beyolu district of Istanbul ruled in favor of a complaint brought by the Istanbul Governors Office, and ordered the closing of Lambda Istanbul, a group advocating for LGBT peoples human rights. The complaint argued that Lambda Istanbuls objectives are against the law and morality. The court failed to address these claims in its judgment and reached a decision that the association should be closed on purely procedural grounds. The ruling is the latest in a series of legal measures targeting organizations promoting the rights of LGBT people.  
 
The judges arbitrary decision highlights the prejudiced proceedings, said Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch, who attended the hearing in Istanbul. If the authorities can close one organization on procedural pretexts, all of civil society is in danger.  
 
The judgment referred to article 17 of the Law on Associations and article 60/2 of the Civil Code, which taken together provide for closure of associations if they do not remedy errors and deficiencies in their statutes. But the courts judgment did not specify these deficiencies. The proceedings made no reference to these articles before this last hearing on May 29. Neither the Governors Office nor the judge or prosecutor raised any such deficiencies in the statutes during previous hearings.  
 
Lambda Istanbuls lawyers told Human Rights Watch they will receive a fuller explanation when the court produces a full verdict in the coming weeks. Lambda plans to appeal the decision and the case will be referred to the Court of Cassation.  

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