12/11/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
At a hearing before the Ankara 61st Criminal Court of First Instance, five trans women who had been held in pretrial detention for two months on “obscenity” charges were ordered released.
Five trans women detained and subsequently placed in pretrial detention as part of the “My Family Is Safe” operations launched on September 12 appeared before the Ankara 61st Criminal Court of First Instance on November 12. All five women, who were being prosecuted on “obscenity” charges over photographs shared on social media, were ordered released under judicial supervision and subject to a travel ban.
The hearing began with identity verification, followed by statements from the defendants. The trans women rejected the charges against them, arguing that their social media posts did not constitute a criminal offense.
“These two months will leave deep trauma in my soul”
Trans woman A.Ç. was the first to present her defense. Drawing attention to the impact of her two months in pretrial detention, A.Ç. said:
“These two months will leave deep trauma in my soul. I do not accept the charges.”
Trans woman Efsun Yakar then took the floor, objecting to the use of photographs shared on her social media account as grounds for criminal charges. Explaining that barriers she faced in employment had forced her into sex work, Yakar stated:
“Investigating my photographs on allegations of obscenity and bringing charges against me is unlawful. I am a university graduate, but because I could not find a job and was not given such an opportunity, I have been forced to do sex work. I demand my acquittal and release.”
Polya, another trans woman who had been imprisoned for two months, also objected to her social media posts being used as grounds for obscenity charges.
“I do not believe that my photographs featuring a swimming pool and a bikini contain anything obscene. This investigation is entirely about my trans identity and my existence,” Polya said.
Lawyer Senem Doğanoğlu: “LGBTI+ people have families too”
Following the defendants' statements, their lawyers addressed the court. Lawyer Senem Doğanoğlu stated that the “My Family Is Safe” operations launched on September 12 targeted LGBTI+ people, recalling the police raids on the offices of Kaos GL and other LGBTI+ organizations.
Doğanoğlu stated:
“Since this operation began, everyone has been questioning workplace deaths at MESEM vocational training centers, femicides and child murders. They talk about family, but the trans women standing trial here today also have families. LGBTI+ people have families too. Social media content was added to the case file through virtual patrols, but this is clearly contrary to the Constitutional Court's decision annulling the regulation that granted police the authority to conduct virtual patrols. There is no legitimate justification for pretrial detention. The content and website cited in the charges are not even accessible from Türkiye.”
Lawyer Nergiz Görnaz: “It is our clients' trans identities and public visibility that are on trial”
Lawyer Nergiz Görnaz, who spoke next, stated that the case file contained no concrete evidence supporting the charges.
“There is no concrete evidence whatsoever in the case file. What is being put on trial here is our clients' trans identities and their public visibility. A trial cannot be conducted on the basis of unlawfully obtained evidence,” Görnaz said.
Board for the Protection of Minors from Harmful Publications describes social media content as “unnatural sexual relations”
A report prepared by the Board for the Protection of Minors from Harmful Publications was also submitted to the case file.
In its report assessing the social media content used as grounds for prosecuting the trans women, the board classified the posts as depicting “unnatural sexual relations.”
The lawyers also objected to the board's assessment. They argued that classifying social media posts in this way could not constitute grounds for obscenity charges and emphasized that the case file contained unlawfully obtained evidence.
Prosecutor sought continued detention, court ordered release
During the hearing, the Ministry of Family and Social Services requested permission to join the proceedings as a party. The prosecutor, meanwhile, argued that judicial supervision measures would be insufficient and requested that all five trans women remain in pretrial detention.
Responding to the prosecutor's request, the lawyers emphasized that the “obscenity” charge at issue was not an offense that would warrant actual imprisonment and argued that the two months of pretrial detention had been disproportionate. They demanded their clients' acquittal and immediate release.
Announcing its interim decision, the court rejected the Ministry of Family and Social Services' request to join the proceedings. Despite the prosecutor's request for continued detention, the court ordered the release of all five trans women.
The next hearing was scheduled for December 28 at 10:30 a.m.
Tags: human rights, women, media, lgbti
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