Category: LGBTI+

Trans student faces terrorism investigation under cheating regulation

30 April 202628 April 2026 Doğa Tekneci

Arin, an Istanbul University student and trans activist facing a disciplinary inquiry, stated, “They cannot usurp the right of LGBTI+ individuals to education.” Lawyers commenting on the matter drew attention to the irregularities and the structural dimensions of these investigations.

Since February 2026, disciplinary investigations have been launched against 13 students at Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa. Within just two months, a trans activist student was targeted with an investigation based on allegations of “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization.” Notably, the justification for this allegation was cited under a regulatory article pertaining to “attempting to cheat in exams.”

Arin, a trans activist and student at Istanbul University, described the process of facing a disciplinary inquiry based on “terror propaganda” allegations. Highlighting legal irregularities and contradictions in the proceedings, Arin characterized the experience as an attempt to distance LGBTI+ individuals from universities.

Pointing out that there are two separate disciplinary investigations against them, Arin stated that no specific reasons were provided in the notices:

“The first was initiated based on correspondence from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Istanbul Police Department. No reason was stated. It did not specify on what grounds they were conducting a disciplinary investigation. Since no specific act was alleged, this directly impacted the right to a defense. In total, 13 people faced investigations; two of those 13 were trans women.”

“Cheating” regulation used as basis for “terror propaganda” allegation

Arin highlighted a striking contradiction in the second investigation file served to them. Despite facing accusations of “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization” following reports from the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police Department, Arin noted:

“The investigation paper cited ‘terrorist organization propaganda,’ yet the disciplinary article cited as the legal basis was ‘attempting to cheat in exams.’ Neither I nor my lawyers could understand the connection between terror propaganda and cheating. There is no court verdict and no concrete evidence.”

Reporting that police intervened during a planned press statement in front of the campus on the day of the hearing, Arin pointed out the discrepancy between school management and law enforcement:

“While the school administration claims to have opened the investigation based on police reports, the Counter-Terrorism units at the gate claimed they never sent any documents to the school. They are experiencing a major internal contradiction.”

“The LGBTI+ flag is not a crime”

Stating that the allegations are being linked to past participation in Pride Marches and Gezi Park commemorations, Arin argued that the questions asked during the interrogation were ideological rather than legal:

“The reason I was detained during the Gezi commemoration was for carrying an LGBTI+ flag. Now they are trying to associate this flag with terrorism. The rainbow flag is a globally recognized symbol; it is not a crime.”

“They cannot usurp our right to education”

Arin stated that a policy of “domination” is being established against LGBTI+ students as part of “Year of the Family” policies. She noted that being singled out among hundreds of organized youth is related to their gender identity:

“My friends and I were asked questions like ‘Are you LGBT?’, ‘Do you have regrets?’, or ‘Did you attend the March 8th events?'” Arin stated that this is a result of trustees attempting to remove LGBTI+ people from public spaces and campuses. “LGBTI+ people will remain in the squares and on campuses. They cannot usurp our right to education” Arin added.

Warning of the risk of suspension due to “hate policies,” Arin emphasized their commitment to a legal battle: “I believe that since there is no concrete evidence, no penalty should be given. If a penalty is issued, we will take the matter to the Administrative Court and higher courts.”

Lawyer Furkan Yurt: “Vague authorities granted to administration”

Furkan Yurt, legal coordinator for SPOD, emphasized that the administration is abusing its disciplinary authority. Yurt stated that Article 54 of the Higher Education Law (No. 2547) allows for vague interpretations:

“Vague phrases such as ‘attitudes not befitting the dignity of the institution’ grant administrators unlimited room for arbitrariness. Conducting an investigation for ‘terror propaganda’ through an article regulating exam cheating is the clearest example of how the administration can adopt a wholesale and discriminatory approach, disregarding even basic legal grounds.”

According to Yurt, while sexual orientation and gender identity are not crimes, they are being criminalized indirectly:

“A rainbow flag, a rights-based expression, or a peaceful protest can be thrown into this ‘catch-all crime’ category without any concrete link. Additionally, ‘obscenity’ and ‘terrorist propaganda’ are the most frequently used tools. Social media posts and participation in peaceful protests are presented as criminal elements through these articles.”

“Nonconcrete accusations is a violation of rights“

Yurt noted that the most fundamental violation is forcing an individual to defend themselves without knowing exactly what they are accused of. He argued that the university administration’s insistence on treating acts, which judicial authorities have found not to constitute crimes, as disciplinary offenses is a “usurpation of function and an abuse of authority.”

“A systematic attack on the democratic identity of universities”

Yurt evaluated the increase in investigations against LGBTI+ individuals as a systematic attack:

“This process is a result of the political administration’s vision of a homogenous society and the narrowing of academic freedom. These investigations often aim to intimidate students and target their right to education rather than staying within legal bounds.”

Lawyer Serhat Alan: “Freedom of expression treated as a disciplinary offense”

Lawyer Serhat Alan from the Istanbul Bar Association categorizes student investigations into two types: administrative disciplinary inquiries conducted by universities and criminal investigations handled by the police and prosecutors.

According to Alan, activities falling under freedom of expression; such as hanging posters, distributing leaflets, or joining protests, are entering disciplinary files alongside police charges like “Opposition to Law No. 2911” or “Inciting the public to hatred and hostility.”

“Institutionalized anti-LGBTI+ hate politics”

Linking the increase in investigations to a “regime of attacks” against LGBTI+ individuals, Alan stated:

“The aim of this increase is clear. The state is acting within a regime of attacks against LGBTI+ people. Following the ban on Pride events since 2015 and the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, we are seeing an institutionalized anti-LGBTI+ hate policy, further highlighted by the declaration of the ‘Year of the Family.’ The state uses investigations to prevent solidarity, make LGBTI+ visibility disappear, and block their organizations.”

Alan also pointed out that these pressures aim to isolate young LGBTI+ individuals and break the momentum of youth movements that have grown since March 19, 2025.

“Legislation lacks a gender lens”

Alan argued that the discrimination faced by LGBTI+ students is tied to legislation that ignores gender perspectives:

“YÖK (Council of Higher Education) legislation and internal school regulations tend to subject LGBTI+ individuals to discrimination because all regulations are drafted without a gender lens. This manifests in the refusal to recognize gender identity, the binary arrangement of facilities like toilets and dorms, the absence of effective sexual harassment prevention units, and issues with changing names on diplomas.”

Press statement was done against inquiries on April 27

A press statement was held on April 27 at Istanbul University for the students facing investigations. The statement, organized by the Istanbul University Student Assembly, is as follows:

TO THE PRESS AND THE PUBLIC

The Rectorate of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa (IÜC) is intensifying its policies of pressure against students every passing day.

In February 2026, disciplinary investigations were launched against 13 students, citing their participation in peaceful protests and subsequent detentions. The basis for these investigations was a police report whose content was withheld from the students. This situation clearly violates the “right to know the charges,” which is the most fundamental element of the right to a defense.

Investigations, arrests, and pressure cannot intimidate us.

The question “Are you full of regret?” directed at some students during this process demonstrates that disciplinary mechanisms have been transformed into tools for coercion and forced confession.

We will not remain silent, we are not afraid, we will not obey.

Less than two months after these processes, the appointed IÜC rectorate has now launched a disciplinary investigation against an LGBTI+ activist on allegations of “spreading terrorist organization propaganda.” Furthermore, there is neither an indictment nor an active court case regarding these claims.

Additionally, this investigation is based on Article 54/5 of the YÖK Disiplin Regulation (a provision regarding the act of attempting to cheat). The blatant contradiction between the alleged act and the legal basis proves that this process is being conducted arbitrarily and lacks any legal foundation.

Despite requests for additional time to prepare a defense, these requests were rejected on the grounds of a police notification stating that “proceedings must be completed within 30 days,” effectively eliminating the right to a defense.

We state clearly: Following students at campus exits, profiling them, and threatening them is a clear method of harassment and intimidation. These practices target the safety of students and place campus life under duress.

The consequences of this climate of pressure are fresh in our memories. İlayda Zorlu was taken from life following a process of pressure and manipulation conducted through the cooperation of the family, state, and police. This loss demonstrates once again the severe consequences of the policies of pressure carried out both on and off campus.

YÖK, police, media—this blockade will be broken!

Therefore, we state clearly: Let those who follow and threaten students on campuses know that this is harassment. We do not accept it.

Long live our organized struggle.

The right to assembly, demonstration, and making press statements, guaranteed under the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, cannot be made subject to permission. The precedents of the ECHR and the Council of State clearly reveal that disproportionate interventions against peaceful actions are unlawful.

These processes are not merely individual; they represent a systematic crackdown on freedom of expression, the right to organize, and LGBTI+ existence on campuses.

Let the appointees who attempt to drive LGBTI+ individuals out of campuses under the guise of the “Family Year” know that LGBTI+ people have not given up on the streets or the campuses for years, and they never will.

As students of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, we believe that universities must be independent, democratic areas for scientific production; we believe this, and we will continue to do our part to ensure it.

We address those who try to pressure us with unlawful investigations and policies of intimidation from here:

YÖK, trustees, media—this blockade will be broken! Universities will be liberated with us!

We stand by all our friends facing investigations and we will not take a step back from our struggle.

Budapest Pride: “Anti-queer laws can be repealed with two-third majority”

17 April 2026

With the end of Viktor Orbán’s conservative rule, a new era began in Hungary, but the silence of Péter Magyar and the Tisza Party, who won a majority in the elections, on LGBTQ+ rights raised questions. Johanna Majercsik, spokesperson for Budapest Pride, stated: “The most urgent issue is the restoration of the right to assembly.”

In the Hungarian general elections on April 12, Victor Orbán’s far-right Fidesz (Hungarian Civic Alliance) party, which had been in power for 16 years, lost its grip on power. Péter Magyar and his Tisza (Respect and Freedom Party) party, which was initially close to Orbán but later split from Fidesz and adopted a center-right stance, achieved a victory.

According to the results from the election, with almost all the ballots counted, Tisza won 138 seats in the 199-member parliament. Having surpassed 133 seats indicates that Tisza has achieved a majority sufficient to amend the constitution.

Viktor Orbán, who served as Prime Minister of Hungary for 16 years until his electoral defeat in April 2026, became widely recognized for implementing a series of laws and policies targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

Orbán made an amendment on 2012 saying constitution recognizes only two sexes. In 2020, this was tightened to effectively ban adoption by same-sex couples. The Child Protection Act (Act LXXIX), which passed on June 2021 under the guise of protecting children, implicitly conflates LGBTQ+ individuals with child abusers. This legislation prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality or gender reassignment to minors under 18 in education, media, and advertising. The law restricts TV programs showing LGBTQ+ content and books containing LGBTQ+ themes. Furthermore, in March 2025, Orbán government passed legislation that effectively banned LGBTQ+ Pride marches, allowing for the use of facial recognition technology to identify attendees

Budapest Pride: “The most urgent issue is the restoration of the right to assembly”

Spokesperson of Budapeşt Pride, Johanna Majercsik, evaluated the demands of Budapest Pride after the Hungary elections. Majercsik describe the collapse of Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule as a path opened for Hungary to return to the rule of law. “A fair and just democracy cannot exist without human rights, including LGBTQ rights,” she said.

Majercsik mentioned that with a two-thirds majority, all anti-LGBTQ laws passed by the Orbán government can be repealed.

“The most urgent issue” said Majercsik, “is the restoration of the right of assembly. This is particularly urgent because we are holding the Budapest Pride March on June 27. But beyond that, the previous government passed numerous anti-queer laws that were enshrined in the Fundamental Law. With a two-third majority, however, these can also be repealed.”

“We know nothing about Magyar’s stance on legal gender and name changes”

Majercsik stated that the program of the TISZA Party that Péter Magyar was elected from makes no mention of the LGBTQ community:

“In his public speeches, he is rather vague when he says that everyone is free to love whomever they want, as long as they don’t break the law (as he stated at the international press conference on April 13). Alas, it is rather impossible to conclude from this whether he intends to use legislation to allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt, and we know nothing about his stance on legal gender and name changes.”

She stated that the LGBTQ+ community in Hungary feels fear, relief, distrust, hope at once at the moment. She lists the reasons why the community experience all these feelings at once as follows:

“The TISZA Party’s program makes no mention of the LGBTQ community, Péter Magyar is vague on this issue, and when Viktor Orbán intended to ban Pride marches last year, Magyar, our future prime minister, remained silent, he didn’t speak up for the LGBTQ people.”

People have zero toleration

Majercsik explaining more than 300,000 people took part in last year’s Pride march in Budapest, further said this can be considered an all-time record since they had estimated 35,000 participants in previous marches.She emphasized that this amount of people showed that people have no toleration to any disregard for fundamental rights.

“In 2025, the people sent a clear message to those in power that they would not tolerate the erosion of their fundamental rights, and they declared that the right to assembly belongs to everyone. Last year’s Pride march played a crucial role in the ousting of the Orbán regime: it was one of the key events where people gathered in huge numbers to express that they had had enough and wanted change.”

Source: Green European Journal, Wikipedia

A trans student is under threat of expulsion from dormitory

31 March 2026

K. A. Ö., a student at Kocaeli University, said that they were threatened with eviction from their dormitory by the administration because of their trans identity. Lawyer Akpınar emphasized that these actions clearly are a human rights violation. Yılmaz from LGBTQ+ Comission of Human Rights Association said no one can be expelled from a dorm for who they are.

A student at Kocaeli University, identified as K. A. Ö., stated that they were targeted by the administration of the Gazi Süleyman Paşa KYK Male Student Dormitory where they reside, due to their transgender identity.

K. A. Ö. said that the dormitory administration had repeatedly called them in for meetings over this issue and threatened them with expulsion if they did not comply with the warnings. They also explained that their family had been contacted and warned by the administration, which increased the pressure on them:

“I have been staying at the Gazi Süleyman Paşa Male Student Dormitory since September 14, 2025. The way I express my gender identity has, for some time, become an excuse used by the administration to avoid dealing with real issues. I was first warned about this on January 29, 2026. The director personally told me that ‘dressing like a woman’ was against the dormitory rules. I was told that if I wanted to behave this way, I would not be able to stay in the dormitory and would need to rent a separate house. I told the administration that I am in a gender transition process at the hospital and that if they had objections, they should discuss the matter with my psychiatrists.”

“I was not told which rule I violated”

Speaking about their meetings with the dormitory administration, K. A. Ö. said that they examined the KYK regulations and presented them to the officials. They emphasized that they read the disciplinary provisions one by one to the deputy directors, yet were never informed which rule they had violated:

“I presented the regulation to them and asked which rules I had violated. I read aloud the articles that define acts requiring disciplinary action under Article 22 (Warning), Article 23 (Reprimand), and Article 24 (Expulsion from the dormitory). They tried to explain gender norms to me and how a man should apply ‘acceptable’ makeup. I was not given any written notification.”

“My family was informed without my consent”

K. A. Ö. stated that after a health issue resulting from an accident, the dormitory administration contacted their family. Saying they do not know exactly what was told to their family, but emphasized that information about their private life was shared without their consent:

“Although I am an adult, the administration of the Gazi Süleyman Paşa Male Student Dormitory disclosed my private life and medical process to my father without my consent. At a time when the government places such strong emphasis on ‘protecting the family structure,’ this unlawful action by the administration suddenly destroyed my good relationship with my father and put me in conflict with my family. This situation is the clearest evidence that the so-called ‘family’ discourse is not about real protection, but merely an ideological propaganda tool designed to discipline individuals deemed deviant through family pressure.”

K. A. Ö. stressed that the sharing of their medical interventions and private life violates both the undertaking they signed and laws on the protection of personal data.

Lawyer Akpınar: “These actions constitute rights violations”

Ekin Su Akpınar, the lawyer of K. A. Ö., stated that the incidents involve multiple rights violations and are unlawful.

Reminding that Article 10 of the Constitution guarantees equality before the law regardless of language, race, gender, or similar reasons, Akpınar also noted that under Article 17, any pressure, threat, or coercive practices targeting an individual’s personal integrity are unlawful:

“Intervening in a student’s clothing and threatening their right to housing on this basis creates serious legal issues and rights violations in terms of proportionality and legality.”

Akpınar further stated that contacting the student’s family and sharing personal information without consent constitutes a violation of the right to privacy under Article 20 of the Constitution:

“According to the regulations on disciplinary penalties and procedures, for a disciplinary action to be taken against a student, the alleged act must first be clearly defined, and the student must be granted the right to defense. This process is conducted directly with the student, and the administration’s counterpart is the student. Even if there is a claim that parents were contacted because the individual is a student, it must not be forgotten that these students are legally adults.”

“This is arbitrary interference”

Akpınar emphasized that imposing sanctions based on clothing style or gender identity is not provided for in the relevant disciplinary regulations and is incompatible with the Constitution and international conventions, describing such interventions as arbitrary.

She also stated according to the section on notification of decisions, disciplinary board decisions must be communicated to the student in writing, and that the regulation should fundamentally aim to protect the student’s right to housing:

“Issues such as students’ lifestyles, identities, and clothing are not matters the dormitory administration can intervene in. Contacting the family and exceeding the limits of authority constitutes entirely arbitrary actions and involves rights violations.”

“Trans students are the first to be excluded.”

Cüneyt Yılmaz, a member of the Human Rights Association (İHD) LGBTQ+ Commission, stated that the threat to expel the trans student from the dormitory is not merely an individual incident, it is the result of a structural problem. Highlighting that everyone has the right to housing and education, Yılmaz said that trans students are often the first to be excluded and deemed undesirable.

“Trans students face problems everywhere, whether they are in a process of transition or not, and are subjected to similar discriminatory attitudes in all areas they are present. This is absolutely a violation of rights. It is clear where dormitory administrations derive this boldness from. Even during parliamentary sessions, ruling party parliamentarian have used discriminatory and hateful rhetoric against LGBTQ+ people,” he said. Yılmaz underlined that dormitories, like all public services, must operate without discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.

Discrimination is a crime

“Just as you cannot exclude a student for being Kurdish or expel them for being Alevi, you cannot do so because they are trans. This is a clear violation of rights and constitutes a crime. Being subjected to discrimination due to an inherent aspect of your existence is inhumane treatment. Discrimination is a crime. Just as institutions are obligated to meet the needs of students with disabilities, they are also required not to create obstacles for trans individuals in transition and to ensure they can stay in the environment of their choice.”

Yılmaz also noted that this atmosphere is not limited to individual institutions, adding: “The rhetoric of institutions such as the government, the Directorate of Religious Affairs, and RTÜK fuels this discrimination. However, responsibility does not lie solely with the government; opposition parties, especially the The Republican People’s Party (CHP), also fail to take an adequate stance on this issue.”

Trans Pride Week: Newroz is all of ours!

25 March 2026

The 12th Istanbul Trans Pride Week called on many organizations and institutions during Newroz: “We are part of the memory, resistance, and rebellion of these lands.”

Photo: KaosGL

The 12th Istanbul Trans Pride Week announced that, like every year, they will be present at the Newroz celebrations in Istanbul with trans and LGBTQ+ flags.

Trans Pride Week called on all organizations and groups defending human rights to stand with them against the attacks they have faced at Newroz by unidentified individuals and the police. The call reads as follows:

“Our open call to feminists, workers, revolutionaries, anarchists, activists, defenders of the right to live, institutions, associations, and organizations: Let’s carry trans and LGBTQ+ flags together at Newroz!
Every year, in the Newroz area where we gather together in resistance against the state and its denial policies, we are targeted because of our flags. We are subjected to violence under various male gangs—nurtured by patriarchy and convinced they are the sole subjects of the space. Despite this male violence, which seeks to block our very existence by forming gangs, we will continue to be present in the square and organize.
In previous Newroz celebrations, we faced physical, psychological, and verbal violence as our flags and our very existence were targeted. The same group of men did not even hesitate to attack babies. Just as we stand against the state’s policies of denial and assimilation, we will continue to fight against such acts of violence, intimidation, and gang-like tactics in the Newroz square where hundreds of thousands gather in the name of peace, freedom, and equality. We are lubun, we are trans, we are Kurdish. We exist in the memory, resistance, and rebellion of these lands. Newroz belongs to us too.
We call on our fellow activists to stand in solidarity with us against those who follow the state’s hate policies targeting trans and queer people.
On the streets, at protests, and on Newroz; we call on everyone to wave the lubunya flag with us, and we invite all our friends and organizations to take pride in flying trans and rainbow flags in the streets. This Newroz, we ask you to wave the lubunya flag alongside your own flags in your parades. Our struggle is shared.
Newroz pîroz be!
Bê trans û lubunya jiyan nabe!
Newroz is mine, yours, and all of ours!”