REPORT: TEEN KILLED BY FAMILY FOR BEING GAY

It’s been reported that a 17-year-old Turkish boy has been brutally killed for being gay, allegedly by his father, in a suspected ‘honour killing’.

According to Hurriyet Daily News, the teenager from the south-eastern province of Diyarbakýr sought refuge at a friend’s house after a family dispute about his sexual orientation became violent.

Identified only as R.A., his uncle forcibly removed him from the friend’s house. Later, he had another argument with his father who then allegedly shot him 14 times.

The uncle is alleged to have helped the father throw the R.A.’s body on the site of the road. The men have since been arrested.

“The family wanted to cover up the murder which happened one month ago because they were a rich and powerful tribal family. They wanted the police to hide the incident,” a member of the local LGBT community told the daily Cumhuriyet.

“We are subjected to violence, but there is no place where we can make a complaint or search for our rights. Police insult and swear at us, doctors make fun of us,” the person said.

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

In 2008, in a similar honour killing case, a Turkish man was tried in absentia for shooting dead his 26-year-old gay son, Ahmet Yildiz, after he came out. He remains a fugitive today.

In 2011, Fevzi Cetin admitted to fatally shooting his 24-year-old transgender brother, Ramazan Cetin. “My brother was engaged in transvestism. I killed him. I cleansed my honour,” he said when turning himself in.

Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships and LGBT people still face widespread social and legal discrimination.