FATHER ON TRIAL FOR MURDER OF GAY SON

A Turkish man, who murdered his gay son in a so-called ‘honour killing’ is being tried in absentia in Istanbul, reports Sapa.

Forty nine year old Yahya Yildiz is on the run after he allegedly shot his 26 year old son, Ahmet Yildiz, in June last year.

The state claims that Ahmet, who was studying to be a physics teacher, was murdered because he had come out to his family as being in a relationship with a German-Turkish man.

An honour killing is when a family member is killed by a fellow family member or members because he or she is believed to have brought dishonour upon the family, clan, or community.

Ahmet’s boyfriend, Ibrahim Can, has said that he doubts that justice will be served in the trial because of rampant homophobia in Turkey.

“My expectations from the trial are minimal,” he was quoted as saying.

While homosexuality is legal in Turkey it remains a taboo subject in the largely conservative Muslim-majority country.