10/02/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
We have compiled the reactions and messages of solidarity concerning the lawsuit filed against Defne Güzel, Chair of the Executive Board of the May 17 Association, on charges of violating the Law on Associations with the allegation of being “contrary to public morality,” for Kaos GL readers.
A lawsuit has been filed against Defne Güzel, Chair of the Executive Board of the May 17 Association, on the grounds of publications released by the association, a book and an exhibition catalogue on intersex rights, alleging “contrary to public morality” and charging her with violating the Law on Associations. The case has mobilized rights organizations, political parties, and human rights activists.
As reactions to the case continue to grow, calls for solidarity with Defne Güzel are also growing, and messages of support keep coming in.
We have compiled the individuals and institutions responding to the case for Kaos GL readers.
Özgür Renkler Association: This case is being assessed as part of systematic pressure policies targeting LGBTI+ visibility, intersex rights, and rights-based civil society activities. We are expanding solidarity against the prosecution of human rights advocacy and the suppression of LGBTI+ visibility and freedom of expression. Rights-based civil society work is not a crime.
Renkli Güvercin LGBTI+ Initiative: We stand with Defne Güzel and the May 17 Association against hate policies, systematic repression, and rights violations targeting LGBTI+ people. We will continue to strengthen solidarity, raise our voices, and sustain our struggle for rights in the face of this climate of pressure. Defne Güzel is not alone. The May 17 Association is not alone. LGBTI+ people are not alone. We stand in solidarity with Defne Güzel. We stand shoulder to shoulder against hate policies. We will not give up our rights, our existence, or our struggle.
Youth Organizations Forum: Following the closure of the Young LGBTI+ Association, a member of GoFor’s Executive Board, a lawsuit has now been filed against Defne Güzel, Chair of the May 17 Association. The justification: a book and an exhibition catalogue on intersex rights. Proceedings have been initiated against Defne Güzel with a request for 1–3 years of imprisonment. This case targets freedom of expression, the right to organize, and LGBTI+ rights advocacy.
Muamma LGBTI+ Association: A lawsuit has been filed against Defne Güzel, Chair of the Executive Board of the May 17 Association, due to the association’s publications! After inspections carried out in 2024, a three member expert panel stated in its July 2025 report that there were no irregularities whatsoever. However, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office disregarded the expert opinion and prepared an indictment alleging “public morality.” The alleged elements of the crime are books containing intersex people’s stories and artistic catalogues. This case is not only Defne’s, it is all of our case.
DEM Party Istanbul MP Özgül Saki: Saki brought the case against Defne Güzel, Chair of the Executive Board of the May 17 Association, to the parliamentary agenda. In a parliamentary question submitted to be answered by Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç, Saki drew attention to the recent increase in inspections and administrative investigations targeting civil society organizations. Noting that associations working in the field of LGBTI+ rights have increasingly faced administrative and legal processes, the motion stated that the criminal proceedings initiated against Defne Güzel in Ankara have also come to public attention within this context.
“Human rights advocacy is not a crime!”
Pozitif Alan: As Pozitif Alan, we are aware that this case is not merely a “paper-based” accusation, but part of a global policy of intimidation targeting trans women, intersex people, and people living with HIV. The prosecution of Defne Güzel is the prosecution of the right to health, privacy, and the will to organize of people living with HIV. We will stand by our founder Defne Güzel at the hearing to be held on May 12, 2026, at 9.40 a.m. at Ankara 74th Criminal Court of First Instance. We call on civil society and all human rights defenders to speak out against this injustice and strengthen solidarity. Defne Güzel cannot be prosecuted! Human rights advocacy is not a crime!
Revolutionary Socialist Workers’ Party (DSİP): The Revolutionary Socialist Workers’ Party stands with Defne Güzel and LGBTI+ people. Until the struggle for an equal, free, and dignified life is won, we will continue to take to the streets against those who deny LGBTI+ existence and ban colors. We call on everyone who wants to live in a better world to support the struggle of LGBTI+ people. You are not alone, lubunya! We were here, we are here, we will continue to exist!
No to the Hate Law Campaign Group: Although the government appears to have removed regulations that would legalize hate from the 11th Judicial Package, the recent arrests of visible LGBTI+ social media figures, obscenity cases, the closure of the Young LGBTI+ Association, and interventions directly targeting the right to organize, culminating in this lawsuit against LGBTI+ rights advocacy, demonstrate that the government has effectively put a hate law into practice in violation of the Constitution.
Joint statement by 14 LGBTI+ rights organizations operating in Turkey: A similar pattern of judicial harassment, through allegations of violating the Law on Associations and obscenity, resulted in the closure of the Young LGBTI+ Association. These instances of judicial harassment are part of systematic attacks against LGBTI+ people carried out under the banner of the “Year of the Family.” Therefore, this case is not only against Defne Güzel; it is directed at intersex visibility, artistic production, freedom of association, and all LGBTI+ organizations. As LGBTI+ associations, we stand with our comrade Defne Güzel. We call on the entire democratic public to raise their voices against this legal travesty.
Joint statement by LISTAG and GALADER: We address the public clearly from here: Those who defend the rights of our children are not alone. As parents, we stand with Defne Güzel and the May 17 Association. Human rights advocacy is not a crime; demands for love, solidarity, and justice cannot be put on trial. We call on the democratic public to stand up for our children’s struggle for equal citizenship and to raise their voices against this unlawfulness.
“We are all contrary to public morality; we will all defend our existence!”
Joint statement by five civil society organizations working in the field of trans rights: Targeting trans people engaged in rights advocacy is not merely the prosecution of a single association chair, it is the silencing of thousands of trans people whose rights are being violated. This attempt at criminalization undermines trans people’s trust in the justice system and fuels social violence. Yet we know that the struggle of trans people for a dignified life and their organized power are far too deeply rooted to be suppressed by any legal pressure.
Direnişin Renkleri: Alongside the closure of the Young LGBTI+ Association and the detention of LGBTI+ influencers under the pretext of public morality, the lawsuit filed today against Defne Güzel is a case targeting our existence and our freedom of association. We are all contrary to public morality; we will all defend our existence!
Women’s Platform for Equality (EŞİK): As the EŞİK Platform, we previously stated that vague and subjective concepts such as “conduct and behavior contrary to public morality and innate biological sex,” which the government attempted to introduce into the Criminal Code through the 11th Judicial Package, would leave no citizen with legal security. Forced by the struggle of the women’s movement and LGBTI+ rights organizations to withdraw these proposals from the package, the government now seeks to strip individuals of their rights and freedoms through de facto practices, even if these concepts are not enshrined in law.
Human Rights Association (İHD): We will stand against every attempt in this geography to deprive LGBTI+ people of their freedom through the “judicial cudgel,” to criminalize visibility, and to stigmatize human rights advocacy. The right to life, freedom, and dignity of LGBTI+ people cannot be a matter of negotiation. Human rights are universal; discrimination is unacceptable. We call on the public, bar associations, professional chambers, democratic mass organizations, and international human rights mechanisms to take responsibility for these grave violations and to strengthen solidarity.
The list is being updated.
Tags: human rights, women, media, arts and culture, life, family, trans, lgbti
