United Nations rapporteurs have expressed concern over the prosecution of a trans rights defender in Turkey, saying the case appeared to be linked to her LGBTI+ advocacy and was part of a wider pattern of judicial harassment targeting LGBTI+ rights defenders and organizations.
In a letter sent to the Turkish government on March 26, 2026, and recently made public, the rapporteurs expressed concern over an indictment filed against Defne Güzel, the founding chairperson of the May 17 Association, which advocates for the rights of LGBTI+ people and combats discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The letter was signed by Irene Khan, the special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression; Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders; and Graeme Reid, independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
According to the letter the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment on January 20 accusing Güzel of violating Turkey’s Law on Associations due to online materials published by the May 17 Association that prosecutors claimed were “contrary to public morality.”
The materials were also alleged to harm “mental, moral, psychological, and social development beyond their intended purpose,” an accusation the rapporteurs said raised concern about the use of vague morality-based grounds to restrict LGBTI+ advocacy.
Güzel was acquitted by the Ankara 74th Criminal Court of First Instance on May 12 after standing trial on charges that carried a prison sentence of up to three years. The rapporteurs’ intervention came before the verdict and focused on the prosecution of a human rights defender over her advocacy work.
The rapporteurs said the prosecution had proceeded despite a previous audit ordered by the prosecutor’s office that found the association’s activities to be lawful and compliant with existing regulations.
They also said the accusations were based on third-party social media posts attributed to Güzel without substantial evidence, raising concerns about respect for the principle of individual criminal responsibility.
The rapporteurs called on Turkish authorities to explain the legal basis for the case and how the proceedings complied with Turkey’s obligations under international human rights law.
They also urged the government to ensure that human rights defenders and civil society organizations can carry out their work in a safe environment and freely exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association.
The same rapporteurs recently raised similar concerns about another LGBTI+ group whose board members face trial over social media posts.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and senior officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have in recent years framed LGBTI+ identity as a threat to family values while promoting policies aimed at increasing birth rates and encouraging traditional family structures. Turkey was ranked 47th out of 49 countries in the 2025 Rainbow Index, an annual assessment of LGBTI+ rights, which placed it among the bottom five in Europe
