Subject: Public Letter of Solidarity and Support – Young LGBTI+ Association and LGBTI+ Student Organisations in Türkiye
ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for the Western Balkans and Türkiye expresses unwavering solidarity with the Young LGBTI+ Association (Genç LGBTİ+ Derneği) based in İzmir, with its members and staff, and with LGBTI+ civil society and student organisations across Türkiye facing escalating pressure.
We condemn the court-ordered dissolution of the Young LGBTI+ Association and the parallel criminal proceedings directed at those associated with its work. Targeting an organisation for peaceful expression and legitimate human rights activities is a serious attack on fundamental freedoms. The closure of an association that has carried out peaceful, lawful, and rights-based work constitutes a serious violation of the right to freedom of association, as protected under the European Convention on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Constitution of Türkiye. The decision reflects a broader and deeply troubling pattern of increasing pressure on LGBTI+ civil society, including the targeting of university-based LGBTI+ student groups and youth-led initiatives. It also sends a wider signal intended to deter others: when organisations are closed and defenders are prosecuted, many people and groups self-censor, withdraw from public life, and limit their advocacy to avoid retaliation. This is precisely how civic space is narrowed—through fear and uncertainty—rather than through any genuine public interest aim.
We are equally concerned by the pattern that these cases reflect. In recent years, LGBTI+ organising in Türkiye has increasingly been confronted with layered forms of pressure: administrative measures such as inspections, controls, and restrictions; followed by court actions seeking dissolution or closure; and then, in parallel, criminal investigations and prosecutions against individuals. This combination of administrative and judicial tools is not neutral. It operates as a method of intimidation and disruption, designed to exhaust organisations and isolate defenders from their communities.
We also stand with university-based LGBTI+ student clubs and initiatives that have faced repeated closure attempts, disciplinary pressure, and restrictions on their existence and activities. Universities should be spaces for learning, pluralism, participation, and debate—never arenas for censorship and intimidation.
Türkiye is bound by international human rights standards, including protections for freedom of association, freedom of expression, and non-discrimination. Dissolution of an association must be a measure of last resort, justified by strict necessity and proportionality. It cannot be used to erase organisations simply because their work challenges stigma, supports marginalised communities, or makes LGBTI+ people visible.
ERA calls for full respect of European human rights standards and invites international human rights mechanisms—particularly the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations human rights system—to treat these cases as an urgent civic-space and rule-of-law concern requiring sustained, visible engagement. We urge EU institutions and the Council of Europe, including the Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant bodies on non-discrimination and fundamental freedoms, to raise the dissolution decision and related criminal proceedings consistently in their engagements with Türkiye, insist on compliance with applicable standards, and support the stopping of the criminalisation processes.
Within the UN system, we invite the Special Procedures to act within their mandates, including the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of expression; the Independent Expert on SOGI; the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, alongside other relevant mandates. ERA calls for clear outcomes: reversal of the dissolution decision, an end to judicial harassment and criminalisation of peaceful organising, protection of LGBTI+ student organising and academic freedom, and continued international attention and forge dialogue and improvement of democratic standards.
To the activists and human rights defenders in Türkiye: your work is legitimate, necessary, and grounded in human dignity and equality. ERA will continue to stand with you, amplify your calls, and mobilise regional and international solidarity to protect civic space and defend fundamental rights.
With respect,
ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for the Western Balkans and Türkiye
