Turkey’s gay groups sound alarm over separate prisons plan

Gay rights groups in Turkey expressed alarm Tuesday at a government-led project to build prisons only for criminals who declare themselves gay, saying it would lead to more discrimination in a largely homophobic country.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag announced at the weekend that plans were underway to construct separate prisons for openly gay inmates in a bid to “protect convicts” with different sexual orientations.

“Convicts who stated that they are gay will not mix with other convicts in the communal area or during social activities in the new prison facilities,” Bozdag said in a written answer to a parliamentary question.

“This is a medieval-age practice. This kind of segregation is nothing but a punishment” said Murat Koylu, a spokesman for the Ankara-based gay rights group Kaos GL.

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