Turkish restaurant owner gets deferred sentence for refusing to serve trans individuals

An Ankara soup restaurant's owner and its headwaiter have been sentenced to prison for refusing to serve three trans individuals and insulting them in 2017. Since the court deferred the sentence, the suspects will not go to prison unless they commit an offense within the next five years.

Friday November 12 2021 04:39 pm

This file photo shows activists during a LGBT Pride parade in Istanbul.

Duvar English

An Ankara court has sentenced the owner of a soup restaurant and its employee to prison for refusing to accept three trans individuals into the business and for insulting them, Kaos GL reported on Nov. 11.

The lawsuit dates back to 2017 when the personnel of Köroğlu İşkembecisi, a restaurant offering tripe soup (“işkembe çorbası”), told the trans individuals in question, “You cannot come in; the boss has a final order, we are not offering service to transgenders.” On top of that, they launched verbal assaults.

Afterawards, Janset Kalan and her friend initiated a lawsuit against the shop owner O.G.D. and headwaiter, who received a jail sentence. However, the court deferred the sentence, meaning that the suspects will not go to prison unless they commit an offense within the next five years.

“Both the restaurant owner and headwaiter received a jail term of close to one year. But, as there is no other crime that they have committed beforehand, the court ruled to defer the announcement of the verdict,” lawyer Emrah Şahin told Kaos GL.

Transgender individuals in Turkey frequently face violent attacks that go unpunished. LGBTI activists are demanding more justice and safety, amid a political system that perpetuates this hostile environment.