Turkish Activist HonoredBy In Your Face News Service New York Demit Demir, a transexual woman and the first person ever considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International because of sexual orientation, will be one of 3 activists given the 1997 Felipa de Souza Award for exemplary service to their communities. The award will be given on June 2nd by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). Ms. Demir is from Cihangir, a district of Istanbul, and has worked on behalf of gay men, lesbians, transvestites, transexuals, and sex workers throughout Turkey. She has been imprisoned numerous times, tortured, had her home broken into and her telephone cables cut in efforts to silence her. Even in her efforts to attend this month's ceremony, Turkey has refused to issue her a passport. Her accounts of aggressive persecution by Cihangir police are emblematic of the plight of transgendered people in Turkey. Reports from the Turkish gay group, Lambda Istanbul, state that Turkey's transexual and transvestite community have been facing vicious attacks from police in Cihangir, including torture while in police custody.
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