Yıldız Tar
Yıldız Tar is a LGBTI+ and human rights defender and the Editor-in-Chief of KaosGL.org, a news portal dedicated to LGBTI+ issues. They have collaborated with numerous LGBTI+ organizations, including the Kaos GL Association, where they prepared annual media monitoring reports, conducted journalism workshops on rights-based reporting, and developed manuals and guides on covering LGBTI+ issues. Yıldız Tar is also a founding member of the Media and Law Studies Association as well as several LGBTI+ organizations in Türkiye, including the May 17 Association, Murat Cekic Association, and Bursa Özgür Renkler Association. Yıldız Tar is also a member of the Türkiye Journalists’ Association (TGS) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). They have experienced judicial harassment due to their activism, having been charged with violating the law on assembly and demonstrations for joining a protest in support of 22 arrested journalists; they were acquitted in January 2025. They contributed to newspapers and online TV channels, writing T24’s “Human Landscapes” column, hosting an Artı TV program on global and local affairs, and publishing four books. In 2023 and 2024, the GALAS LGBTI+ Awards shortlisted Yıldız Tar in the “International Activist” category.
Human rights defenders (HRDs) in Türkiye have been subjected to judicial harassment, including criminal prosecution, violent attacks, threats, surveillance, prolonged arbitrary detention, and ill-treatment. In the aftermath of an attempted coup in July 2016, the environment for the work of HRDs deteriorated even further.
