Reprisal: Turkish human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları arrested for a speech he made at a Council of Europe

Turkey’s war on free expression and the courage of Enes Hocaoğulları | ILGA-Europe

By jailing a youth delegate for speaking at the Council of Europe about police violence, Turkish authorities have shown how far they will go to punish dissent. But Enes Hocaoğulları’s case is also a rallying point, part of a broader pattern of censorship and intimidation that Turkey’s LGBTI community has faced for years, yet continues to resist with courage and creativity. Enes Hocaoğulları, 23, a youth delegate to the Council of Europe, was arr…

Reprisal: Turkish human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları arrested for a speech he made at a Council of Europe

On 5 August 2025, human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları was detained at the Ankara Esenboğa Airport, on his return to Türkiye due to an arrest warrant issued by an Istanbul court, in connection with ongoing investigations into a speech he made at the 48th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on 27 March 2025. Enes Hocaoğulları is a youth and LGBTI+ rights defender based in Ankara, Türkiye. Since 20…