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Despite bans, protests planned in Istanbul after trans woman’s body found burned

Aug 21 2016
Written by Joseph McCormick

Protests have been planned after the body of a trans woman who went missing two weeks ago in Istanbul was found burnt.

Hande Kader, a trans woman who lived in the city, was the subject of a missing person’s announcement after her friends reported that she had disappeared.

A sex worker, she was last seen getting into the car of a client just over two weeks ago and friends have not heard from her since. Her partner and her friends had reported Kader’s disappearance to the police.

Search and rescue efforts had been made by police, and the body of a trans woman was found near Zekeriyakoy.

Her partner said the prosthetics she had been wearing had helped to identify her body.

Demonstrations have been planned for Sunday in order to push for LGBT+ people in Turkey to be protected.

This comes despite Pride events having been banned over “safety concerns”, and a ban on large public demonstrations.

“She would go crazy when trans individuals were killed. She’d be so sad … she had been stabbed and beaten before. This didn’t happen only to Hande. It happens to all of them,” said Kader’s flatmate.

This is the latest in a number of incidents in Istanbul

Last month a gay Syrian man was found decapitated after being kidnapped and raped in Istanbul.

The victim, Wisam Sankari, a Syrian refugee in Istanbul, was so badly mutilated that his friends had to identify him by the trousers he was wearing.

Officials in Turkey earlier this year ordered that the capital’s Pride parade be cancelled – claiming the ban was because of ‘security’ concerns following a mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando which left 49 dead.

Last month, when demonstrators took to the streets, over 300 police officers were deployed to the scene in riot gear. A water cannon was also seen at the site of the march.

According to reports, one man tore up a pro gay-rights banner.