A Turkish father who beat his gay son to death for ‘shaming’ his family has been found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison.

 
17 year-old Roşin Çiçek was murdered by his father Metin Çiçek and two uncles Şeyhmus Çiçek and Mehmet Alican in July, 2012. His body was found by a roadside, beaten bloody and with a bullet wound to the head two days after he disappeared from his hometown.

However, lawyers for the Çiçek family had argued that the family could not be homophobic because they were “modern and bourgeois”.

There were tense scenes both inside and outside the courtroom in Diyarbakir yesterday as supporters of the family clashed with LGBT and human rights activists.

During the hearing, members of the Çiçek family threatened that “if anyone gets convicted in this case, we will kill everyone who is here, the lawyers, and the members of parliament.”

Harika Günay Karataş, a lawyer present during the trial told LGBTI News Turkey that despite the threats, the police had warned activists that they could not guarantee their safety. “Family members attacked us. Hate is everywhere. Law enforcement officers say that they cannot secure our safety outside of the courthouse even though we were attacked.

“Our request to join the pending case as joint plaintiffs was rejected. Apparently, you need to be killed to be hurt by a crime,” Günay Karataş added.

An unrepentant Metin Çiçek, claiming he killed his son accidentally told the court, “I wanted to scare my son. Should he have turned into a terrorist? We fought, I shot him.”

Metin Çiçek and his two brothers all received life sentences.