25/03/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
Kayataş is being tried on charges of “facilitating the publication of obscene materials” and “publicly inciting hatred and hostility.”
The Ministry of Health has dismissed Larin Kayataş, Turkey’s first openly trans woman doctor, from the profession for the second time. Following the decision, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office filed a criminal complaint against Kayataş and initiated a criminal case. She is being tried with a prison sentence sought on charges of “facilitating the publication of obscene materials” and “publicly inciting hatred and hostility.”
In a statement shared on social media, Kayataş said that a 924 page report prepared after a 10 month investigation by an inspector appointed by the Ministry of Health involved attempts to access her personal data. She stated that healthcare personnel at her workplace were interviewed about her and that her private life was examined in detail.
“I am very angry in the face of all this as a trans woman, a doctor, and a human being! Because we are not only talking about an administrative action here. This is the confiscation of my right to work, systematic exclusion, institutional punishment, and a very severe process that violates human dignity. This is clearly oppression!” Kayataş said, adding:
“I am Dr. Larin Kayataş. I am Turkey’s first openly trans woman doctor. Despite a ‘court decision,’ I have been dismissed from public service for the second time by the Ministry of Health, and my position as a doctor in the public sector has been terminated. Not content with this, a criminal complaint was immediately filed against me with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, a criminal case was opened in my name, and today I am being tried with a demand for imprisonment. Not only my medical profession but my freedom, my future, my existence, in short, my entire life, has been targeted. My public duty as a doctor, which I earned through at least 10 years of serious effort, including 4 years at Vehbi Dinçerler Science High School and 6 years at Çapa Medical Faculty, has been unilaterally and unlawfully terminated.”
“I am very angry in the face of all this”
Emphasizing that the process against her was not limited to administrative sanctions, Kayataş said:
“I am very angry in the face of all this as a trans woman, a doctor, and a human being! Because we are not only talking about an administrative action here. This is the confiscation of my right to work, systematic exclusion, institutional punishment, and a very severe process that violates human dignity. This is clearly oppression! Moreover, the process I have experienced has not been limited to administrative sanctions. A 924 page report, including annexes, was prepared about me over 10 months by an inspector appointed by the Ministry of Health. Attempts were made to access my personal data. Numerous healthcare personnel at my workplace were interviewed about me. Statements about the length of my skirt were included in the report. My private life was scrutinized with considerable effort, and following all this, a criminal process was initiated. This approach toward me has turned into a systematic, persistent, and severe practice of exclusion and intimidation. The duty of the Ministry of Health is not to examine a doctor’s private life with such extensive effort, but to develop this country’s health policies.”
“This issue does not only concern me”
Stating that “This issue does not only concern me” Kayataş continued:
“This issue does not only concern me; it concerns, first and foremost, trans people, as well as all LGBTI+ individuals, the doctors of this country, women, and everyone who faces rights violations. I am making this statement not only to share what I have experienced but to make the truth visible. I call on the public to be aware of this unlawfulness, not to remain silent, and to strengthen solidarity. Because I do not accept the normalization of what has been done to me. Because in this country, the life of a doctor, a trans woman, and a human being should not be targeted so easily. In the coming days, I will launch a solidarity campaign, including financial support, in response to the loss of my rights and being left unemployed due to this process. I would like to thank in advance everyone who does not withhold their voice, solidarity, and, for those who are able, their financial support in the face of this unlawfulness.”
Tags: human rights, women, media, life, labour, health, trans, lgbti
