Turkey: Country's only gay rights group shut down

Oh, yeah, they'll fit right into the EU all right.

/not.

A Turkish court ruled today the closure of the only gay rights association in Turkey after the prosecutor had said it violated the family protection and public morality laws, Turkish agency Anadolu reported.

The agency added that the ruling was issued by a court in the Beyoglu district, in Istanbul's centre, against the Lambda Istanbul group set up in 1993. Three years ago, the deputy governor of Ankara asked for the closure of the 'Kaos' association in which gays and lesbians living in the Turkish capital had joined, calling for the application of a norm which bans associations "against the law and morality". However, the Ankara prosecutor rejected the request.

Unlike the other Muslim states, homosexuality has never been a crime in Turkey, but is surrounded by a widespread social criticism with the exception of Istanbul's European districts where there are various places of meeting reserved for homosexuals, without this sparking off scandal. Nevertheless, there are no laws for protecting the homosexuals from discrimination.