Hundreds of protesters in Istanbul marched out to protest the killing of a transgender woman, LGBT activist Hande Kader who was brutally murdered in a forest on August 8.
Her burned and mutilated body was identified in a morgue by a friend, Turkish media reported.
The protesters carried banners in a peaceful protest Sunday shouting “Justice for Hande Kader”.
They also carried banners stating “let’s fight for our survival” close to the famous Istiklal Avenue near Taksim Square. They were closely been watched and mponitored by anti-riot police
Ebru Kiranci, spokeswoman for Istanbul’s LGBTI Solidarity Association, said:
“We will not stop until we find those responsible for Hande Kader’s murder.”
Another statement read:
“Transgender murders are political” and ” conservative educational system that does not take us into consideration”.
Kader was the second transgender women to be murdered in Turkey. Some weeks ago, the LGBTI community was shocked after Syrian refugee Muhammed Wisam Sankari was found mutilated and decapitated on July 25 in Istanbul, his friends said.
Homosexuality has been legal in Turkey throughout the period of the modern republic, reports Al Jazeera.
It was also legalised in the Ottoman Empire from the mid-19th century.
Authorities in Istanbul banned Gay Pride over security concerns, sparking anger from gay rights activists.
