The badly charred body of a trans woman was found near Zekeriyakoy, a middle-class neighborhood in Istanbul. The Daily Sabeh reports that:
Authorities would not comment on the circumstances of her death, the 22-year-old was believed to be heavily mutilated before her corpse was set on fire, possibly to avoid identification of the perpetrator or perpetrators.
Her name was Hande Kader, and she was sex worker and well-known political activist. She had been pictured participating in protests and demonstrations for LGBT rights, and attended an LGBT rally in March where she was filmed being arrested by police (that’s where the top picture comes from).
She was last seen getting into a client’s car before going missing. A missing person’s report was filed by her partner when she did not returned home.
According to the IBTimes:
This is the second known murder of a Turkish trans woman in 2016 after Turkish citizen Hande Öncü was found murdered in Vienna. Her friends said had escaped Turkey because of the transphobic discrimination she had received.
Also, according to BuzzFeed:
Kander’s murder comes just two weeks after a gay Syrian, Muhammad Wisam Sankari, was reportedly found beheaded in Istanbul, in an area just several miles from where Kader’s body was discovered. Sankari was a refugee who had arrived in the city a year ago.
The Istanbul LGBTI+ network and Pride Week Committee released a public statement “demanding justice” for Kader and others who have been killed because of their sexual orientation, saying:
“We feel great anger: our beloved friend Hande Kader was burned to death… Hande was a person who raised her voice against hate crimes and encouraged everyone to raise their voices too.
“We are constantly shouting at LGBTI+ Prides, Trans Prides and other protests that homophobic and transphobic statements are leading to hate crimes, murderers often escape unpunished, and hate crime laws are urgent. Unfortunately, our Prides have been banned in the last two years, yet we need to be seen, to be on the streets and to shout our demands in order to end hate crimes… We demand justice for all that lost their lives for being a woman, a trans or a gay.”
Ses verdikçe yaşayacağız.
Vardık, varız, var olacağız. Size inat. #HandeKadereSesVer pic.twitter.com/QLXgsM2yQj— Levent Pişkin (@leventpuskin) August 17, 2016
Spare a thought tonight for transgender activist #HandeKader burnt to death in #Turkey hate crime #HandeKadereSesVer pic.twitter.com/2Q7cevtFxC
— Mark Lowen (@marklowen) August 17, 2016
Rest in peace baby… You deserved to be who wanted to be and love who you wanted to love 😥🙏🏼 #HandeKadereSesVer pic.twitter.com/pyyRu2NhaH
— JASMINE V (@JASMINEVILLEGAS) August 18, 2016
Don’t let this go under,a trans women burned to death because she stood up for what she believed. #HandeKadereSesVer https://t.co/OvV8cO8MFx
— SD (@rebel_french) August 19, 2016
This Turkish women was burnt to death only because she was trans.
Don’t let this go unnoticed. #HandeKadereSesVer pic.twitter.com/viyI8doWZv
— Eduardo Solis (@EndBullyinNow) August 18, 2016
she was raped and beaten up before they set her on fire. do not let the world ignore this. #HandeKadereSesVer pic.twitter.com/7Ok94g2n3T
— 207R57 (@sarahsniehaus) August 18, 2016
Being a transgender takes A LOT of courage, I can’t even begin to imagine what it takes to be one in an Islamic country #HandeKadereSesVer 💔
— Heathcliff (@Ziam_Britney) August 17, 2016
Yakılarak öldürülen #HandeKader kardeşimiz için sessiz kalmıyoruz!#handekaderesesver pic.twitter.com/1e7jHn20Gx
— Kadın Cinayetleri (@KadinCinayeti) August 17, 2016
