Turkish court fines hamam owner for denying entry of transgender woman

A Turkish court has ruled that the owner of a hamam, Turkish bath, in Istanbul is to pay 3,000 Turkish Liras for discriminating against a transgender woman by denying her entry.

?pek K?ranc?, a transgender woman, went to Galatasaray Hamam? with her friend Helga Maria Margereta Binder on Dec. 26, 2013. Ahmet Karagüney, the owner of the hamam, refused to take her in. K?ranc? showed her ID card, on which woman is written, but her request to enter was not accepted. Karagüney allegedly told K?ranc?, "We do not accept dönme [a slang word used for transgender people], go to your own hamam. We will allow your friend [Binder] to enter, but you cannot." Eren Keskin, K?ranc?'s lawyer, filed a complaint to the court for the violation of the Turkish Penal Codes' 122th Article, which considers "discrimination against people based on language, religion, gender, color, political thought, philosophical belief, sect or alike."

Keskin said it is the first time in Turkey that the violation of a transgender person's right was penalized with Article 122. "If the supreme court of appeals also approves the local court's decision, then this could be an exemplary decision for LGBTI individuals. They will feel safer," said Keskin.

Judge Gönül Do?an gave a punitive fine of 150 days and set at 3,000 liras.