The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of Türkiye on 11 February 2026. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. The Government responded on 10 April 2026.
Since the communication was sent, the first hearing in the criminal case against human rights defenders Kerem Dikmen, Ahmet Emirhan Şaşmaz, Aras Örgen, Barış Azar, Berhan Ocak and six other members of the organization was held on 8 April 2026. The next hearing in the case against them is scheduled for 14 October 2026. Genç LGBTİ+ Association has also lodged an appeal challenging its dissolution.
This is a shorter version of the communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the allegedly arbitrary dissolution of the Genç LGBTİ+ Association and the criminal charges brought against the human rights defenders Kerem Dikmen, Ahmet Emirhan Şaşmaz, Aras Örgen, Barış Azar, Berhan Ocak and six other members of the organization.
Genç LGBTİ+ Association (Young LGBTI+ Association) is a civil society organization that was established in İzmir in 2016 with the aim of combating discrimination, violence and exclusion faced by LGBTI+ youth. It works to raise public awareness of such issues and advocates for access to safe spaces, legal and psychosocial support for LGBTI+ youth and builds peer solidarity and support networks.
Kerem Dikmen, Ahmet Emirhan Şaşmaz, Aras Örgen, Barış Azar, and Berhan Ocak are human rights defenders advocating for the rights of LGBTIQ persons and are part of the executive leadership and staff of Genç LGBTİ+ Association.
ALLEGATIONS
Between 26 April 2019 and 14 May 2020, Genç LGBTİ+ Association shared four illustrations on its social media account for Lesbian Visibility Day and he LGBTI+ Youth Festival.
On 18 March 2021, the İzmir Governor’s Office released the report of an audit it had initiated into the activities of Genç LGBTİ+ Association during the period of 26 October 2019 – 26 January 2021, concluding that no legal action would be taken against the organization.
On 31 March 2022, Genç LGBTİ+ Association shared an illustration on Lesbian Visibility Day on its social media account.
From 25-27 September 2024, an audit of Genç LGBTİ+ Association’s activities was carried out again by the İzmir Governor’s Office for the period of 26 April 2019 – 1 January 2022. The audit was carried out in the context of a series of audits and inspections of organizations that advocate for the rights of LGBTIQ persons in Türkiye. The audit report detailed that five allegedly ‘obscene’ illustrations had been posted on the social media account of Genç LGBTİ+ Association between 2019 and 2022. This is despite the fact that four out of five of the illustrations were the subject of the inspection by the İzmir Governorate in 2021 and for which no legal action was pursued.
On 10 December 2024, the İzmir Governor’s Office reported Genç LGBTİ+ Association to the İzmir Chief Prosecutor’s Office, requesting that a criminal investigation be launched for the charge of obscenity in relation to the illustrations, and that a lawsuit be filed seeking the dissolution of the association. In response, the İzmir Chief Prosecutor’s Office Cybercrime Bureau initiated an investigation into the association as a legal entity on the charges of “facilitating the publication of obscene material” (article 226/2 of the Turkish Penal Code), and “establishing an association for prohibited purposes or to commit criminal acts” (articles 30(b), 32 (p) of the Law on Associations), with reference to the protection of the family under article 41 of the Constitution.
On 3 February 2025, a dissolution case was filed against Genç LGBTİ+Association by the İzmir Chief Prosecutor’s Office before the İzmir 3rd Civil Court of First Instance, alleging that the association had encouraged society to adopt LGBTI+ identities by disseminating obscene content through the sharing of the illustrations on its social media.
On 5 March 2025, the İzmir Governor’s Office sent a second letter to the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, inquiring as to whether any action had been taken in response to its letter of 10 December 2024. On 7 March 2025, the Prosecutor’s Office responded to the letter from the Governor’s Office to say that it could not access the letter and recommending that it be re-sent.
On 11 March 2025, the dissolution case against Genç LGBTI+ Association began before the İzmir Third Civil Court of First Instance. The organization was not notified of the hearing, leading to its members and legal representatives not being present at court. The Association’s representatives subsequently submitted a petition to the court requesting additional time to respond, which was granted by the court.
On 12 March 2025, the İzmir Governor’s Office sent a third letter to the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, to which it attached the letter dated 10 December 2024. The letter stated that although a dissolution case had been filed against the Genç LGBTİ+ Association, no information had yet been provided regarding the criminal investigation and asked for information about this. A second criminal investigation was subsequently initiated into the same five social media posts from 2019 – 2022, however this time the investigation was against 11 human rights defenders from Genç LGBTİ+ Association – including two members of the board of directors and supervisory board and two employees. The 11 members being investigated included Kerem Dikmen, Ahmet Emirhan Şaşmaz, Aras Örgen, Barış Azar, Berhan Ocak and six others. The investigation document noted 12 March 2025 as the date of the alleged crime, the same date the third follow-up letter was received from the İzmir Governor’s Office.
On 8 April 2025, the second hearing for the dissolution case was held, during which the lawyersfor Genç LGBTİ+ Association were permitted to present their defense, having missed the first hearing due to lack of prior notification of its scheduling for that date.
On 18 June 2025, the Press Prosecutor’s Office conducting the second investigation into the 11 members of Genç LGBTİ+ Association instructed the police and prosecutors’ offices to take statements from these individuals. From then until October, statements were taken from Kerem Dikmen, Ahmet Emirhan Şaşmaz, Aras Örgen, Barış Azar, Berhan Ocak and six members of Genç LGBTİ+ Association.
On 14 August 2025, the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office Cybercrime Bureau closed the first of the two criminal investigations initiated against Genç LGBTİ+ Association, on the grounds that the illustrations posted on its social media account did not constitute obscenity.
On 4 September 2025, the third hearing in the dissolution case against Genç LGBTİ+ Association was due to be held before the Izmir 3rd Civil Court of First Instance. The judge that had been presiding over the case had been transferred to another court, and the newly appointed judge for the case did not come to the hearing. As a result, no proceedings took place.
On 22 October 2025, the Prosecutor leading the second criminal investigation – focused on 11 members of Genç LGBTİ+ Association – concluded that there should be no prosecution on the charge of obscenity, similar to the conclusion of the first criminal investigation against the association. The prosecutor reportedly stated to the lawyer of the file that whilst the charge relating to obscenity would not be pursued, the investigation would continue regarding the allegation under the Law on Associations.
On 28 October 2025, the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office filed a criminal case against Kerem Dikmen, Ahmet Emirhan Şaşmaz, Aras Örgen, Barış Azar, Berhan Ocak and six members of Genç LGBTİ+ Association before the Izmir 47th Criminal Court of First Instance. They were charged with “establishing an association for prohibited purposes or to commit criminal acts” under articles 30(b) and 32(p) of the Law on Associations, with the prosecutor seeking imprisonment and fines – despite the fact that in accordance with article 33 of the Law on Associations, the Chairperson of the board of an association will be held responsible for violations of its provisions. The first hearing for the trial of Kerem Dikmen, Ahmet Emirhan Şaşmaz, Aras Örgen, Barış Azar, and Berhan Ocak and six other members of Genç LGBTİ+ Association was scheduled for 8 April 2026.
On 27 November 2025, the judge presiding over the dissolution case was changed a second time, due to the judge being transferred to another court. On 11 December 2025, the fourth hearing in the dissolution case against Genç LGBTİ+ Association took place before the Izmir 3rd Civil Court of First Instance. The judge – the third to preside over the case and despite it being the first and only hearing this judge oversaw – ruled that the social media posts contained obscene images. In the ruling, the judge stated that the images were viewed by many people and reached a wide audience, that they may encourage and promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, transvestite, or transsexuality, and that the association was not in line with the moral values of society or article 41 of the Constitution. In accordance with this, the court ruled for Genç LGBTİ+ Association to be dissolved.
At the time of writing, Genç LGBTİ+ Association is preparing to appeal the dissolution decision.
CONCERNS
Without wishing to prejudge the accuracy of the information received, we express our serious concern regarding the legal order for the dissolution of Genç LGBTİ+ Association and the criminal charges brought against 11 of its leading members and employees, including Kerem Dikmen, Ahmet Emirhan Şaşmaz, Aras Örgen, Barış Azar, and Berhan Ocak.
We are concerned about the stated justification for launching both the dissolution case against the legal entity and the criminal case against the human rights defenders working for the association, ostensibly due to five illustrations posted on its social media account. In this regard, we recall that article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) guarantees the right to hold opinions without interference and the right to freedom of expression, which applies online as well as offline and includes not only the exchange of information that is favourable, but also that which may criticize, shock, or offend. Any restriction on this right must be strictly compatible with the requirements set out in article 19(3) ICCPR and be “the least intrusive instrument among those which might achieve their protective function” (CCPR/C/GC/34, para. 34).
Furthermore, given that four out of five of the illustrations in question were already the subject of a previous audit, which did not find any basis for further action, we are concerned that they were selected for further scrutiny as a pretext for subjecting Genç LGBTİ+ Association to legal harassment based on its work more broadly, advocating for the rights of the young LGBTIQ community in İzmir.
A number of issues related to potential due process violations in this case give rise to concern, including the alleged interventions of the Governor’s Office, in response to which the criminal investigations appear to have been filed; the failure to notify the association’s lawyers of the first hearing in the case; the change in judge three times, over the course of what appears to be a relatively short trial to begin with; and the fact that the third judge issued a decision after presiding over just one hearing in the trial, and on the same day as such, raising concern as to whether sufficient time and consideration was paid.
We are also cognizant of and further concerned by the fact that the legal harassment against Genç LGBTİ+ Association is not an isolated incident but rather part of a broader pattern of penalizing civil society organizations and associations working to promote the rights of LGBTIQ persons.
