Turkish Court Cites “Negative Personality Traits” to Deny Sentence Reduction for LGBT+ Activist
Part of composite article Turkey Locks Up 19.5 Years for Activist, Jails NATO Protesters, Crushes Dissent—But the Money Trail Points to Erdogan’s Asset Protection View full article →
MERSIN, Turkey — A Turkish court sentenced LGBT+ and human rights activist Aytok Zozan Viyan to 1 year and 2 months in prison for insulting the president. The court refused to reduce the sentence or suspend it, citing Viyan’s “negative personality traits” as justification.
The activist was convicted for social media posts that used the words “phobic” and “dictator” in reference to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Mersin 26th Criminal Court of First Instance issued the ruling, which has since been sent back for review by an appeals court.