Murder Of LGBT Activist Prompts Protest In Istanbul

More than 200 people have taken part in a protest in central Istanbul calling for justice over the murder of a transgender woman and LGBT activist.

The demonstrators on August 21 held signs and chanted slogans for Hande Kader, a 22-year-old sex worker whose burned body was discovered in a forest last weekend.

No arrests have been made in the case.

The death of Kader is the second murder to rock the LGBT community in Istanbul in recent weeks after the headless, mutilated body of a gay Syrian man, Muhammad Wisam Sankari, was identified in late July.

Homosexuality is legal in Turkey, but rights groups say hate crimes against the LGBT community are common.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, and the BBC