İsmail Temel is a LGBTI+ activist from Izmir, who survived police brutality following the August 5, 2020 pro-Istanbul Convention protest in Alsancak, Izmir. Temel fainted while he was taken under custody and was taken to the hospital with a police vehicle rather than an ambulance. He was called to give a statement at the police station for the allegation that he “resisted the orders of the police”. Temel lost his house and job for he was outed against his consent.
Ismail Temel is a 23 year old pro-Istanbul Convention activist. He has been defending LGBTI+ rights under Izmir Kızıl Okyanus LGBTİ+ organization since 2019. As a part of his activism, he participated in the pro-Istanbul Convention on August 5, 2020 in Alsancak, Izmir. When he was leaving the protest, and just as he was getting into a taxi, he was pulled out of the vehicle by the police. He was beaten up and dragged on the ground. The police insulted him and his family, participated in hate speech against his identity. They tried to handcuff him behind his back. As a result of all the violence, he suffered from an attack and fainted. Although an ambulance was on its way, Temel was put in a police vehicle and taken to Tepecik Training and Research Hospital. For a long time, he could not contact anyone about his situation from the hospital. Temel was then called to the police station to give a statement and accused of “resisting police orders”. He invoked his right to remain silent and did not sign any documents presented to him. Upon his return to his family home, he learned that the police called his family and outed Temel against his consent and accused him of being a member of an illegal organization. He had to leave his house and his job which was in the same neighborhood. The solidarity network for Temel found him a house and a job following this incident.
On August 29, Genç LGBTİ+ Association released a press statement supported by a number of rights based organizations, which stated that they will be filing a criminal complaint against those responsible for the violence and discrimination Temel survived. Eren Keskin assumed legal representation of Temel following the incidents and identified the police that beat Temel up. She then requested a court case to be opened on the grounds of Article 94 of the Penal Code of Turkey, Article 12 of Istanbul Convention and Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The case is yet to be opened.
n the last day of 2020, Boğaziçi University students, who opposed President Erdoğan's appointment of former AK Party deputy candidate Melih Bulu as rector of their university, started a peaceful protest. In this context, the inclusion of a photograph of Kaaba with an LGBTI+ flag and a Shahmaran figure in an exhibition they organized in the school made LGBTI+ students a target, and two students were arrested. LGBTI+ groups who wanted to support the resistance at Bogazici University and protest the arrest of students gathered in Alsancak Kıbrıs Şehitleri Caddesi on February 1, 2021 in İzmir. The police intervened harshly against the group that wanted to march. After the intervention, many people were detained. İsmail Temel was among those detained. Temel was released same day, in the evening. A total of 104 people were detained during the protests on 1, 3 and 5 February in İzmir, and many people applied to the HRFT due to the torture and ill-treatment they were subjected to during detention. A year later, with the indictment prepared on February 14, 2022, a lawsuit was filed against 6 people who were detained during the actions of February 1-5, on the grounds of "opposition to the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations No. 2911". İsmail Temel is among these 6 people. The first hearing of the case was held on April 15, 2022. After the statements were taken, the lawyers demanded the acquittal of their clients. However, this request of the lawyers was rejected and postponed to 24 June 2022. The third hearing of the case was held on November 4, 2022. The court, which decided to issue a warrant for the police officers who did not attend the hearings without an excuse, adjourned the case to 13 January 2023 in order to complete the missing statements and to examine the images submitted to the file by the defendant's lawyers.
On 13 June 2022, a demonstration was held in Istanbul Kadıköy, demanding an end to the Imrali isolation. 25 people, including İsmail Temel, were detained. HDP Kadıköy District Co-chairs Koray Türkay and İsmail Temel were arrested following the police officers' complaint.
The investigation carried out against 25 suspects was completed on August 12, 2022, and a prison sentence of 6 months to 3 years was demanded for each of them, on charges of "participating in illegal meetings or demonstrations, not dispersing despite warning and use of force". İsmail Temel was also asked to be imprisoned from 6 months to 3 years on the charge of "resistance to the police".
The fourth hearing of the case, regarding the press release held with the participation of many institutions in order to support the resistance of Boğaziçi University students, was held on January 13, 2023, at the 49th Criminal Court of First Instance of İzmir. The defendants, including İsmail Temel, are charged with "opposing the law no. 2911". Witnesses at the hearing described the police violence that took place that day. The case was adjourned to 12 May 2023 to hear other witnesses.
