23/02/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
The second hearing in the case against Enes Hocaoğulları, a Council of Europe Youth Delegate and LGBTI+ rights defender, was held today. The court ruled to acquit Hocaoğulları.
The second hearing in the trial of LGBTI+ activist and Council of Europe Turkey Youth Delegate Enes Hocaoğulları, who was prosecuted on charges of “inciting hatred and hostility among the public” and “publicly disseminating misleading information” due to a speech they delivered at the Council of Europe in April 2025, was held today (February 23) at 2.00 p.m. before the Ankara 86th Criminal Court of First Instance.
The hearing, originally scheduled for 10.25 a.m., was postponed to 2.00 p.m. and police were present in the courtroom. Representatives from the embassies of Norway, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, and Germany, as well as human rights defenders, university LGBTI+ groups, and numerous rights organizations attended the hearing. Due to the large audience, the hearing was held in the courtroom of the Ankara 26th Heavy Penal Court.
The hearing began with Enes Hocaoğulları’s defense. Key excerpts from their statement are as follows:
“It has been exactly five and a half months since our first hearing. In my initial defense, I said that my detention prevented me from practicing my profession; I have since returned to work. I am once again traveling abroad and participating in diplomatic events. Few people there know me personally, but everyone seems to have heard of me. Diplomats often hear that I am from Turkey and, without knowing who I am, refer to me as ‘the young person who was arrested because of a speech at the Council of Europe.’ In other words, the number of people who heard about the human rights violations I mentioned in a speech delivered to a few hundred people in a hall grew to tens of thousands through a smear campaign, and to millions with my arrest.
If a young person from this country can, entirely through their own efforts and in a merit-based manner, represent their country in international democratic forums, that should be a source of pride for all citizens of that country. But instead of pride, we are experiencing shame today. Because in the 75 year history of the Council of Europe, there is someone who was arrested due to an act connected to the Council of Europe. We are talking about an institution with a total population of 745 million. While the number of people arrested for participating in democratic decision making processes within an international institution should be zero, the fact that it is one, and that this person is a young citizen of the Republic of Turkey, should be a source of shame for us all. In this country, young people who represent us internationally are sent to prison.”
Court acquits Hocaoğulları
In the opinion of the prosecutor, an acquittal for Enes Hocaoğulları and the lifting of the judicial control measure were requested. Following the prosecutor’s opinion, Attorney Mahmut Şeren and Attorney Doğa Teoman Çatalkaya stated that they concurred. Şeren thanked all human rights defenders, rights organizations, and representatives who attended the hearing.
After the prosecutor announced the opinion, Hocaoğulları said:
“I thank everyone who allowed and ensured that the law functioned as it should.”
The court ruled to acquit Hocaoğulları and to lift all judicial control measures.
What happened?
Enes Hocaoğulları was taken into custody at Ankara Esenboğa Airport on August 5, 2025, due to a speech they delivered at the Council of Europe in April of the previous year, and was arrested the same day. They spent 35 days in pretrial detention before being released under judicial control. At the first hearing held on September 8, 2025, their detention was ended, and the case file was sent to the trial prosecutor for preparation of the opinion.
Tags: human rights, media, life, trans, lgbti
