The suspected honour killing of a gay man in Turkey has provided the inspiration for a new film that aims to raise awareness about homophobia in the country.
The producer and co-director of Zenne, Mehmet Binay, has taken inspiration from the tragic death of 26-year-old Ahmet Yildiz, a close friend, who he claims was murdered in 2008 by his own father for being gay.
As reported by CNN, Yildiz’s father is still at large, with court documents identifying him as the main suspect. A copy of the indictment suggests the father’s motive to be that he “did not accept the victim to be in a gay relationship,” the news outlet reports.
Speaking to CNN, Binay said: “The starting point [of the film] was a dear friend of ours who was murdered in 2008 for being gay by his own father.”
He added: “Death and murder is still on the agenda of our country. We can’t get rid of this mentality. People need to tolerate each other. They need to understand that different identities can live next to each other without disturbing each other.”
As well as documenting the murder in Istanbul, Zenne highlights other instances of homophobic abuse, including what gay rights groups claim to be an unwritten military policy whereby gay recruits must produce photographic evidence of themselves having anal sex with a man. Something the defence ministry has denied, CNN reports.
Despite the murder of his close friend, Binay believes progress is being made in terms of recognising gay rights. “All sorts of minorities including gays and lesbians are demanding their rights. They want recognition; they want protection by the state. They want to be able to live, first of all, and not be murdered,” he added.
