Enes Hocaoğulları, youth delegate to the Council of Europe Congress and LGBTI+ rights activist, was released on 8 September 2025 after spending more than a month in pre-trial detention. His release came only days after a historic prison visit by a Council of Europe delegation that had raised strong concerns about his imprisonment.
On 5 September, a delegation from the Council of Europe visited Hocaoğulları in Ankara’s Sincan Prison. The delegation emphasized that this was the first time a youth delegate had been imprisoned for a speech delivered at the Council of Europe, calling the situation both unprecedented and deeply alarming.
During the visit, Hocaoğulları drew attention to overcrowded prison conditions, stating that 51 detainees were held in a ward built for 28 people. The delegation assured him and the public that they would continue to monitor both his case and detention conditions closely, underlining that freedom of expression is a fundamental European value.
Court ruling and release
On 8 September, during the first hearing at the Ankara 86th Criminal Court of First Instance, the court ordered Hocaoğulları’s release. He had been facing charges under Article 217/A (“publicly disseminating misleading information”) and Article 216 (“inciting hatred and enmity”) of the Turkish Penal Code, charges widely criticized as politically motivated.
While the court decision does not drop the charges, Hocaoğulları will now await the continuation of his trial outside prison.
LGBTI+ organizations and human rights groups welcomed the release, but stressed that Hocaoğulları should never have been detained in the first place. They argued that his arrest was a clear attempt to silence young people, dissidents, and the LGBTI+ community.
International bodies including Amnesty International, Front Line Defenders, and the Council of Europe have called on Turkish authorities to drop all charges and repeal laws such as Article 217/A, which are increasingly used to stifle dissent and criminalize free expression.
