Turkish Court rules in favour of freedom of assembly

Last Friday 3oth April, the local court in Izmir, Turkey, ruled in favour of the Black Pink Triangle Association‘s right to exist. The association was charged with going against “public morality” by Izmir’s Public Prosecutor in October 2009.

In January 2010, the Intergroup wrote a formal letter to Judge Mursel Ermis, requesting to reconsider the case in the light of international law, Turkish jurisprudence, and Turkey’s EU accession process.

Delivering his judgment, judge Mursel Ermis declared that “homosexuals are free to found associations like all other people”, a declaration welcomed by the Intergroup on LGBT Rights.

The judgment comes as a relief to the fourth Turkish LGBT association to come under threat of closure since 2005. KAOS GL, Pembe Hayat and Lambda Istanbul faced similar charges in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Members of the European Parliament in the Intergroup on LGBT Rights declared themselves happy with the court’s decision, and congratulated Judge Ermis on his honourable ruling in favour of universal human rights.

Read more:

• AFP report (via Al Arabiya)
• Public statement by Amnesty International