The 17th Criminal Court of First Instance in Izmir sentenced LGBT+ rights activist Asya Gökalp to prison for two separate social media posts. The court sentenced Gökalp to 1 year and 3 months in prison for “inciting the public to hatred and hostility based on Turkishness” and 7 months and 15 days in prison for “insulting the religious values embraced by a segment of the public” due to posts she made on X in May 2024. Since there was a decision to postpone the announcement of the verdict in his previous case, the sentences were not suspended. Gökalp’s lawyers announced that they would appeal the decision and that the process constituted judicial harassment.
December 18, 2025
Marxist.org