Tuesday, December 06, 2005
JOIN THE STRUGGLE FOR MEHMET THIS FRIDAY!
This friday, 11:30 a.m., at the Clothespin near City Hall in Philadelphia, join the protest for Mehmet! Below is from the press release Refusing To Kill & The Global Women's Strike has been circulating:
Mehmet Tarhan is a gay anarchist “total” conscientious objector – against all wars and any alternative to military service. He was sentenced to four years by a military court for “refusing orders”.
Turkey does not recognize conscientious objection and provides no alternative to military service.
For the Turkish military, homosexuality is an “illness”. Men applying for exemption on grounds of homosexuality must submit to an anal examination and often provide a video of sexual intercourse.
This is the equivalent of the notorious “virginity test” which the Turkish police and army have used for decades to judicially rape and sexually assault women, in particular Kurdish women.
Mehmet has refused to be classified as “ill” because he is gay and has demanded his right to be a conscientious objector. The Military Court of Appeal quashed the previous sentence, threatened judicial rape and ordered a re-trial on December 15.
posted by CAConrad
