News Centre
While the AKP government has declared the upcoming decade as the "Year of the Family", it continues its attacks targeting LGBTI+ individuals. The anti-LGBTI+ regulations, which were expected to be included in the 10th and 11th Judicial Packages but were postponed following public backlash, are now on the agenda of the 12th Judicial Package. According to a report by Kaos GL (a prominent LGBTI+ rights organisation), an information note regarding the 12th Judicial Package has been sent to senior AKP MPs. The judicial package, planned to be brought to the parliamentary agenda in June, will include articles that criminalise LGBTI+ individuals and raise the age limit for gender affirmation surgeries for transgender individuals to 25. According to the information in the report, "the conditions for applying for gender reassignment and undergoing gender reassignment" will be redefined. The report states that it is also planned to categorise "unlawful gender reassignment" as a distinct offence under the Turkish Penal Code. Medical practitioners who perform medical interventions that do not comply with the new restrictions on the gender affirmation process face prison sentences ranging from 3 to 7 years; meanwhile, individuals who undergo these interventions face prison sentences ranging from 1 to 3 years.
PRISON SENTENCE REGULATION
According to the information note, "in order to prevent attacks on the general morality and values of society, the penalty for the offence of indecent acts" will be increased to a prison sentence ranging from 1 to 3 years. With this regulation, the offence of "publicly engaging in, or publicly encouraging, praising, or promoting attitudes and behaviours contrary to biological sex" will be defined. The law plans to punish LGBTI+ individuals with a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years even for merely stating that they exist.
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled İktidar nefret yasası inadını sürdürüyor,published in BirGün newspaper on June 3, 2026.
