by Rex Wockner
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Turkish prosecutors must investigate attacks against five transgender rights activists by police in Ankara and drop charges against the activists, the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission and other organizations said Oct. 18 in a letter to Turkey's interior and justice ministers.
The activists from the Ankara-based transgender organization Pembe Hayat were detained by police in May; beaten, kicked and pepper-sprayed; then later charged with resisting police.
The letter also was signed by Human Rights Watch, COC Netherlands, Global Advocates for Trans Equality, and the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association — ILGA-Europe.
"The Turkish government is turning us trans people into criminals, for no other reason than existing," said GATE co-director Mauro Cabral. "We are the crime."
